John’s squad are already in Russia preparing for this weekend’s tournament in Moscow as they look to defend the trophy they won in 2009.
Wales were 80-1 outsiders in the last World Cup but after reaching an IRB final in Hong Kong and finishing seventh in the series overall, they will not go under the radar this time around.
Pontypridd’s Adam Thomas leads a Wales squad which includes the experienced Lee Williams and Rhys Shellard.
And after a tough selection process to finalise his 12-man squad, John says his side are ready to go.
“We feel our squad is made up of the best available players and they’re looking forward to representing Wales in a World Cup,” he said.
“Selection for the tournament has been very tough as the boys have been very competitive during training. We’ve had more numbers to prepare with than normal, training with 19 before cutting it down.
“It’s been difficult to finalise the 12 but a lot of boys have shown the right attitude during training and we think we’ve gone with the right squad.”
Wales have been drawn in Pool E in the first round of fixtures, taking on Uruguay, Tonga and Fiji at the Luzhniki Stadium.
The clash with Fiji looks set to be a mouth-watering encounter but before a meeting with the South Sea Islanders, John is focusing the other two opponents.
“We’ve got Uruguay and Tonga before we even look at Fiji,” said John. “The big thing with those two games is that we’ve got to be really switched on defensively and not concede many points while scoring as many tries as we can.
“The nature of sevens is that anything can happen with a try or a decision so we’ve got to be ready to make sure we put ourselves in a good position for when we play that third game against Fiji.
“If everything goes to plan, that will be a winner takes all game to top the group. Points difference is going to be massive – it could have a big impact on who goes through to the quarter finals if we lose a game.”
John’s World Cup squad contains many of the same faces who have featured in the IRB World Series, Carmarthen Quins pair Jason Harries and James Davies both regulars throughout the year.
That familiarity, according to John, is something Wales can benefit from.
“The experience is vital and being used to having the same people around you is a big thing,” said the former Pontypridd scrum half.
“Even though sevens is a shortened version of the game, team work and digging deep for each other is still paramount to success.
“You go to some dark spaces in a sevens game and you’re absolutely worn out. That’s where you need people around you to help and I’m sure these boys will go through that during the weekend.
“Everyone in the squad has experience of playing international sevens so I think that will help.”
