HEAD coach Gareth Williams believes Wales will reap the rewards of blooding fresh talent when the HSBC Sevens World Series starts up again in the New Year.

Wales sit sixth in the world rankings after encouraging performances when finishing fourth in the opening tournament of the season in Dubai and then sixth in Cape Town last weekend.

Wales were overpowered 33-0 by hosts South Africa, who would go on to lose the final to England, and then came up short against Kenya in the fifth place play-off despite making a flying start.

Tries by Owen Jenkins and Lloyd Evans, plus a pair of conversions by Cross Keys full-back/fly-half Ethan Davies, earned a 14-0 half-time lead but they shipped 19 unanswered second half points.

That performance disappointed Williams but the boss, who was assistant for Team GB when they won silver at the Rio Olympics, believes it has been a positive first block.

He has handed tournament debuts to Newport Gwent Dragons wing Jared Rosser, Stefan Andrews, Thomas Williams, Matthew Owen and Owen Lane alongside the experience of the likes of Brynmawr's Sam Cross, Davies, Adam Thomas and Luke Treharne.

"The second half of our match against Kenya was hugely disappointing," said Williams, whose side have been drawn with Scotland, Russia and Canada for the next tournament in New Zealand.

"It was very much a game of two halves that we controlled very well in the first. I hope the second half acts as a timely reminder of how sevens can change so drastically in a short space of time.

"As a squad, we have massively overachieved in this block of tournaments, what with the limited number of players we had in the build-up.

"However, it is a credit to the potential in the group, and the resolve, that they have got these early results.

"It has been a successful phase of preparation and competition for the sevens programme as a whole. Blooding five new young players as part of their overall development in conjunction with the regions is as big a result as reaching the semi-final in Dubai.

"The challenge now is to secure the continuity of these players, increase overall squad competition, and refocus on our technical and tactical strategies. These are things that have worked effectively for the majority of these first two tournaments."

The Wellington leg takes place on January 28 and 29 before the teams head from New Zealand to Australia for the Sydney tournament the following weekend.

South Africa currently lead the way in the 10-tournament series despite being edged out by England.