Family values spurring Rosser on to sevens success

The Dragons youngster is hot on the heels of his brother Jared who has also previously played for Wales U20s as a winger and for Wales on the world series circuit.

Both brothers are pretty quick to let each other know how they have done after every match they play and when you throw in father Lee, who played wing for Pontypool and Abertillery back in the day, the whatsapp group can be quite lively at times.

The 21-year-old is playing just his third tournament for Wales in this weekend’s Singapore leg of the world series as Richie Pugh’s men face off against Scotland, Argentina and New Zealand in a tough pool but he knows his family will be eagerly following his progress 7,000 miles away.

“We have a little trio of me, my brother and father – every game I play I’m waiting to see what they say, normally my father is pretty quick to message and then I’ll go into more detail with my brother,” said Rosser, who admitted getting used to the heat and humidity this week in Singapore ‘has been a bit of struggle to be honest.’

Rosser began his rugby journey playing centre or wing for Pontypool Untied before advancing to Pontypool Schools in a side containing the likes of Taine Basham, Dan Babos and Aneurin Owen who defeated Rhondda Schools to claim the Dewar Shield in 2015. He played his youth rugby for Talywain before being picked up by the Dragons at U16s.

Like his elder brother, Rosser was a handy sprinter for Cwmbran Harriers and competed in the 60m, 100m and 200m.

“I used to do football, athletics and rugby but I always preferred the team sports as I found them more fun. I kind of did athletics just to help my speed for the other sports and when I started doing Pontypool Schools and Dragons rugby got a bit more serious so I just sort of fell into it then and have focussed on that ever since,” he said.

Rosser junior admits the sibling rivalry is a great incentive as he forges his own career on the international stage.

“I try and outdo him – obviously it’s nice if I ever need advice or whatever. I can go to him but yea, I want to outdo him and be better than him.”

Rosser’s chirpy nature bristles – albeit briefly – when asked if he is using the sevens as a stepping stone to regional recognition.

“Obviously, I would like to get a regional contract in 15s but I think it’s a bit harsh to refer to it as a stepping stone because when I’m here I still want to win and do my best for the sevens so I don’t feel I’m using it, I’m taking the opportunity that’s been given to me.

“You are so exposed covering so much area on the pitch, there are only seven players on the team. Especially these days when defending as a winger a mistake is going to more than likely lead to an opposition try. You get so many touches of the ball and have to make so many tackles and decisions, so it’s just a great experience to take in to 15s.”

After having his first taste of sevens in the Spanish legs of the world series in January, Rosser is now aiming to kick on in his third tournament this weekend.

“Personally, I think it went really well in Spain,” he reflected. “There was kind of no pressure on me as it was my first tournament and didn’t really know what to expect. By the end of it I feel if I had a point to make, people would listen because they knew that I was going to try my best on the pitch.”

Rosser admitted that going into his first two tournaments was like going into the unknown as no amount of training can prepare you for an actual game of sevens when your pedigree is in 15s.

“It was a shock. Some of the boys did GB so they were still doing the circuit so they were giving advice and saying what to expect but when you get on the pitch you realise it’s a lot harder that what you were expecting.

“We didn’t have much prep going into Spain tournaments and because a few of us were new I don’t think the coaches wanted to put too many ideas into our heads to fry our brains.

“Going into Singapore we have a more structured game plan. We had a game plan in Spain but we have more detail on it now. And I think everyone is on the same page and everyone knows what we are going to be doing so our prep has been so much better.”

Looking ahead to this weekend’s action, Rosser is encouraged by Wales’ recent two days hit-out against England and Scotland where the three teams conducted tournament-style sessions at Principality Stadium.

“I think every single game is going to be hard. I was looking at the teams before coming and I was thinking I don’t really know who I want in my group as all of them look hard.

“New Zealand are back for the first time in two years but they had games against Fiji and Australia recently so that isn’t bad opposition to get you ready for a tournament.

“In regards to ourselves, you can play games against yourselves but you all know everybody’s moves and personnel but if you are playing against different teams they don’t know what to expect from set piece etc so it was good to play against different Scotland and England . We played loads of games so we had a lot of clips to review and find good/bad things to work on, so it put us in a good place to come here,” he said.

“We know what to expect from Scotland as well as the other teams as we’ve analysed everyone and like I said we’ve got more detail on our game plans. We know how we want to play against teams, so we are confident.

“I think we’ve done enough prep to get some results out here – everyone is going to be disappointed if we don’t get the results to go with the way we are playing.”

HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series – Singapore Leg
April 9-10 National Stadium
Pool C
Wales v Scotland (3.44am Sat)
Wales v Argentina (7.12am Sat)
Wales v New Zealand (10.06am Sat)