“We’ve had a good start to the year. We reached the semi-final in Dubai, the quarter-final in Cape Town,” says the Olympian from Brynmawr.
“We slipped off in Wellington, but were able to get back on track in Sydney. The main things for us this season is consistency, so three quarter-finals out of four is close to where we want to be. We want to be getting to the semi-finals more consistently, but you don’t get there without the quarters, so we need to be putting them away.”
Cross’s young team are determined to keep taking strides forward. In his first season as a Wales Sevens player, he was part of a side which beat Fiji in two tournaments, but the results then dried up for a few long years. That was until just under a month ago, when thanks in no small part to a sensational hat-trick from Morgan Williams, Wales romped to a 28-15 victory against the Olympic champions in Sydney.
“We narrowly lost to Fiji in the Hong Kong final in 2013 when we had been 19-0 up at half-time, and I was on the team which lost to them in the Olympic final last year, so it was nice to finally get some revenge,” he admits.
The Australian heat, however, was a different matter entirely to overcome – peaking at 38 degrees on Day Two, just weeks after the city had experienced record-high temperatures. “It had rained throughout the week, but then a heatwave hit on the weekend. We adjusted to it on the Saturday, but that had a knock-on effect for us on the Sunday,” says the 24-year-old. “We didn’t have much left to give then. We were playing at 2pm against Australia, at the hottest time of day. The Aussies have played in those conditions a million times, and you can’t replicate that heat until you’re out there.”
It all made for the toughest tournament Cross says he has played in during his career, and perhaps suggests that Las Vegas this weekend should be positively balmy in comparison. “Every year you go back to Vegas it gets bigger and bigger. It’s sold out this year, and I see they’ve extended the capacity,” says Cross, with a note of excitement. “It’s a college football stadium, and you feel the stands are right on top of you, whereas you go to some stadiums and they’re like cricket grounds. You can really feel the supporters there.”
Arriving at the middle point of the season, Las Vegas is a welcome juncture for the players. “When you’ve been travelling for so long, it does give you that pick-up, no matter how many times you’ve been there,” he says. “When you’re flying into Vegas, you see the strip all lit up. My first ever tournament was there in 2013, so it’s always good to go back.”
When asked how much he’s changed since taking his first step onto the field as a professional sevens player, his answer covers all aspects of life on the circuit. “One year of sevens puts about four on your career! Knowledge-wise, though, the experience is invaluable: the amount you learn in the season, adapting from being away from home for so long, how you prepare for tournaments and so on.”
One thing’s for sure: Cross has plenty of wisdom to impart when it comes to long-haul travel. “The inexperienced boys jump on the plane first thing, whereas I’m waiting to be the last one on,” he says, “because I know if you’re sat on there for an hour before take-off, it’s an extra hour on your flight. If you go on last, you can pick out where there are spaces and you might be able to get an extra bit of leg room. Things I’ve picked up over the years are key now.”
After his Rio adventure with Team GB, Cross isn’t surprised that Wales, England and Scotland are all doing well at this stage of the season. “It was pretty weird turning up in Dubai and seeing all of the GB teammates in different colours,” says Cross. “Your teammates might be wondering why you’re talking to the English boys, or the Scottish boys, when before we wouldn’t really speak because there was a rivalry there. The Olympics has broken that boundary between us. We’re all in the top seven, which is good, because it’s very competitive between us.”
Lying in wait for Wales in Pool A are Canada, France and the form team of the season, South Africa. Cross assesses his team’s chances as such: “We’ve beaten France and we’ve beaten Canada this year. South Africa have been playing brilliantly, but losing two of their best players in [2016’s World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year] Seabelo Senatla and Kwagga Smith to Super Rugby is going to be a tough one for them. It’s one of their favourite tournaments, because the tight pitch makes it physical, but we were unbeaten on Day One in Sydney, so we’d love to do that again.”
For Wales Sevens team news and information on this weekend’s competition, click here.
