Canada defeated Portugal 26-24, while Wales earned their place in the final by beating Scotland 26-7 in the other semi-final. But it was mostly one-way traffic in a lopsided final.

Four unanswered tries in the first half put the Canadians ahead 28-0 before the break and although Wales - playing in their unfamiliar daffodil yellow colours - came back after the interval, their efforts proved too little too late.

Canada snuffed out the Welsh comeback and won their first Hong Kong silverware since the Plate in 2003.

Williams was grinning ear to ear as his Under-23 team collected the trophy.

'That was our main objective going into the games; to get a lead early and make other teams chase us because we are not a great team when we have to do it the other way round,' said Williams

'To get the lead in the manner we did was phenomenal. It's good to see the guys having fun, too. That's probably the biggest thing we tried to stress as a group,' he said.

'We didn't have fun on Friday even though we won. Then today, we created a more party-like atmosphere in the changing room. The guys were dancing and it was translated on the field.

'Everyone can have fun in the hotel and on the bus, but when they step onto the field, that's when they have the most enjoyment. And that's what we are starting to feel right now,' he said.

'It's not very common that Canada win any silverware here,' said Williams. 'Hopefully this is the start of things to come.'

Canada got straight down to business when 21-year-old Thyssen de Goede laid the foundation with a brilliant try after only 40 seconds.

The Wales defence was caught napping again only two minutes later when Ciaran Hearn's long pass found Chauncey O'Toole, who skipped past the Welsh defence before tucking the ball under the posts.

Canada scored two further tries before the break, through Hearn, who ran half the length of the pitch before touching down, and after Philip Mack bulldozed his way over the line to score.

Wales had a much better second half, but despite tries from Rhys Shellard, Lee Rees and Ifan Evans, their efforts proved to be in vain.

'We spread the tries around so as not to be greedy,' Williams joked.

Wales coach Paul John was a forlorn figure as his side trooped off. A day earlier, Wales had suffered the ignominy of losing to Hong Kong in a pool match. Now they had been outplayed in the Bowl final.

'We didn't have a decent start and we didn't gain possession,' said John. 'They scored first and then scored two more quick tries. We couldn't get much of the ball. They played very well.

'We made critical errors. It was a poor performance and we were battling to bridge the gap. It's a disappointing way to finish.

'In the second half we played better because we controlled the ball. When you control the ball you have a better chance. We made too many possession errors. That's the way it goes.

'We are world champions, but we only have two players who played in last year's World Cup [in Dubai]. We're a new side. We're a different team and we had to start all over again.