WALES captain Sam Cross says their stunning win Olympic gold medallists Fiji has given them the belief they can claim a top-six spot in the HSBC Sevens World Series.

Gareth Williams’ side are currently seventh in the standings, level on points with Australia, and are preparing for this weekend’s tournament in Las Vegas.

They head to America buoyed by a 28-15 win against champions Fiji in Sydney, their first success against the back-to-back series champions since 2013 to end a 14-match losing streak.

“That game made us feel like on our day, we can beat anyone,” said Brynmawr’s Cross, a member of the GB team beaten by Fiji in the Olympic final in Rio.

“We want to be a top six team by the end of the series and if we are going to do that, we have to get wins against teams like Fiji.

“The competition is fiercer than ever, certainly since I have been playing, and every win matters. That one mattered a lot to us.”

Wales have made three cup quarter-finals already in 2016/17 to better last season’s tally of two with just four of 10 rounds played.

“There are a lot of changes from last year. We had four core contracted players last year, which meant a lot of rotation with new players coming in and out,” said Cross. “Now, we have eight core contracted players and more consistency.

“Pre-season for a lot of the lads started in July, that’s a good five months of conditioning and training before the series.”

Wales will face South Africa, Canada and France in Pool A in Vegas this weekend.

“South Africa are the team to beat, they have been formidable this series,” said Cross.

“Canada, they beat us in Wellington and we have to bounce back against them. France are also another team we can’t underestimate, it’s going to be another tough round on the series.”

Cross is joined in the 12-man squad by Newport Gwent Dragons flanker James Benjamin and Cross Keys fly-half/full-back Ethan Davies.

Wing Luke Morgan, formerly on the Dragons’ books, returns from an eight-month injury lay-off that ended his Olympic hopes.