AS the dust settles on Sam Cross’ silver medal-winning exploits with the Great Britain rugby sevens squad at the Olympic Games, club coach Craig Warlow has hailed the achievements of Brynmawr’s finest.

Cross, who has played under Newport chief Warlow over the last couple of seasons, came off the bench for Simon Amor’s team throughout the tournament in Rio, helping Britain go all the way to the final.

And, while they may have not got the result they wanted in the gold medal match against Fiji, Cross and his teammates, including fellow Welshman James Davies, showed incredible resilience and togetherness to make the last two.

Warlow hasn’t been able to pick Cross for Newport anywhere near as much as he would have liked given the latter’s commitments with Wales on the world sevens circuit.

However, the Black and Ambers head coach is in no doubt that the Rodney Parade club should celebrate what Cross has accomplished.

“I think Britain exceeded all expectations in terms of work ethic, organisation, grit and determination,” said Warlow. “It was one step too far for them in the end but they did incredibly well to get to the final.

“Because there was quite a big gap between games the players had more time to recover, so Simon Amor was able to keep picking the same team to start each game.

“But although he started every game on the bench, I think Sam was used more than any other substitute by the coach.

“Sam more than played his part when he did come on. He gave a few great passes and tackled really well.”

He added: “Everyone at Newport is proud of what Sam has done and the club should celebrate what he has achieved. It’s a big thing for us as a club.

“The boys sent him good luck messages before the Olympics, as did I, and I’m sure he has had a lot of messages congratulating him since he got his medal.

“It’s richly deserved and not something that just anyone can say they have achieved.

“Whenever I’ve had the opportunity to pick Sam for Newport I have and I’d love to have him in the team this season, but he has got to make the most of what he has done in the sevens game.”

Ironically, Wales rugby legend Ken Jones, who won a silver medal in the sprint relay at the Olympics in London in 1948, also played for Newport during his illustrious career.