Mon 31 Oct: RLWC: Papua New Guinea v Wales KO 19:30

[Midlands hobo]

Well happy. If anyone had said it was going to be 30-0 with under 5 mins I'd have laughed at them. 

 

Shame about the last score but a fantastic second half

[Damien]

A real plucky effort from Wales. There is no shame in being beaten when you've put in 110% like that.

[moorside roughyed]

So cruel , after all the Welsh efforts.

[Northern Eel]

The 6,968 seem to have had an enjoyable night.

[Welshleaguelover]

The Welsh lads have done themselves proud. Credit to John Kear too. A very good coach.

Hopefully we can build on this going forward.

[bratman]

Good effort from Wales, shame they couldn't get a try. PNG have played well.

[moorside roughyed]

England will have to be on form and play for the full 80.

[Futtocks]

Great fight from the Welsh, but PNG have benefitted from a long-overdue period of behind the scenes stability and the Hunters' inclusion in Australian competition broadening their experience.

And Wales are not selecting from the same talent pool as in the past.

Great to see both sides taking a moment together after the game. Mutual respect.

[WN83]

I’ve been really happy with Wales in this tournament. I feared for them when I saw the squad pre tournament but I went to the Cook Islands game and it was as enjoyable a game as I’ve been to so far. They really dug in and had a go at Tonga and after a poor first half, they refused to wilt second half. Having a coach like John Kear helps but the players deserve a lot of credit. They’re not full time the majority of them but they’ve just kept fighting away against some fantastic players and teams packed full of full timers. 
 

 

[Just Browny]

Welsh lads have let no-one down. The Kumuls looked better tonught than vs the Cook Islands, they are a handful.

[Ackroman]

I would be very proud to be Welsh tonight. All sports offer up teams that just work hard but don't quite have the IQ they need in the spine.

That's what Wales need to move up a level. It will happen just has it has for the south sea and PNG sides so long as we see Cymru as a strategic necessity.

Play a 4 nations each year from home nations. Winner plays England. It's a start.

[Jim Prendle]

1 hour ago, DavidM said:

Dave Woods did mention Nutlick and greasy balls in the same sentence , but luckily my university education means  I’m above juvenile humour 

I didn't work for me, you must have gone to a better university.

[fighting irish]

4 minutes ago, Ackroman said:

I would be very proud to be Welsh tonight. All sports offer up teams that just work hard but don't quite have the IQ they need in the spine.

That's what Wales need to move up a level. It will happen just has it has for the south sea and PNG sides so long as we see Cymru as a strategic necessity.

Play a 4 nations each year from home nations. Winner plays England. It's a start.

We need to act in unison in the Northern Hemisphere.

I'd like to see games against Ireland and the Scots to help and encourage the development of home grown players but I think we need to include Greece and Jamaica in ''the plan'' also.

Including France and England, in a league type structure, would make the competition too big and the gulf in class from top to bottom, too great to create meaningful competition. So, (I'll say it again) a ''squash ladder'' structure where each team plays the team above and the team below them, seems a sensible and realistic way of achieving our common aims. This structure would give each Nation, two games per season against similar class opposition, a chance to gauge their improvements and celebrate the occasional victory. 

If I was holding the NRL purse strings, I'd open an office in North America with a view to drawing together all the interested parties in the USA and creating a semi-pro/pro league as soon as possible.

Including the USA in the next world cup, should be a major goal for the game. 

[John Drake]

Various posts removed.

I'm tired of having to say this on here, but here we go again.

If you see a problem, REPORT IT.

Do NOT respond to it, otherwise you make the situation worse and end up dragging the whole thread off topic.

[JohnM]

The one disappointment for me in an otherwise admirable Wales performance was their kicking game. Sterile, unimaginative and speculative, better execution might have led to a score or two.

[DoubleD]

49 minutes ago, Ackroman said:

I would be very proud to be Welsh tonight. All sports offer up teams that just work hard but don't quite have the IQ they need in the spine.

That's what Wales need to move up a level. It will happen just has it has for the south sea and PNG sides so long as we see Cymru as a strategic necessity.

Play a 4 nations each year from home nations. Winner plays England. It's a start.

I’m just not sure the pool or pathways is big and mature enough. A lot of that team are at the end of their career - over half that side won’t be playing in France in 25. The likes of Kear, Williams and Lloyd are the last of the products from the Celtic Crusaders legacy. Where are the next generation going to come from?

[tim2]

Just back from a soggy Doncaster.

Too many soft tries from Wales in the first half. Much better in the second half, increased intensity put PNG under a lot of pressure but their defense looks pretty good. They seem so much more structured than past PNG sides.

Perhaps watching on TV you don't realise how heavy the rain was. The handling by both sides in the conditions was very good IMO and helped the game flow.

[glossop saint]

Just home from the game. Really terrible conditions for open rugby.  Can't doubt the Welsh heart and effort, just maybe the nouse and talent. Really cheering them on to get that try in the second half but not to be. 

Plenty of none league fans sat around us who seemed impressed enough by the effort and athleticism, especially from PNG.

Interestingly when we got there, there were other people at in our seats. Not a problem but they were insistent that they were in the correct seats. Did the organisers sell the same seats twice?! We ended up sitting nearer the half way line in presumably more expensive seats but did seem a bit odd. 

[StandOffHalf]

I felt a bit sorry for Dave Woods as he willed and cajoled Wales to get over. Would have been nice for them and the lively crowd to have got on the board tonight.

Nevertheless, a commendable and admirable campaign for them.

Job done for PNG. They have obviously been set up as the fall guys for England. Very short 4 or 5-day turnaround is hardly ideal for them, especially with the Tier 1 team getting two extra days to recover and prepare.

As a neutral, I would love to see the Kumuls stick it to the organisers and up-end the applecart. I thought it was pretty insulting and disappointing how their anthem tonight cut away before the final segment. Mistakes like that shouldn't happen. I hope the anthem is played properly on the weekend

COME ON PNG!

[Wakefield Ram]

Really enjoyed it. PNG ran hard and strong and just a step above the Welsh but credit to them, they stuck at it possibly helped by the heavy rain.

Very good crowd in the circumstances and a good ovation at the end for both teams.

[Midlands hobo]

58 minutes ago, JohnM said:

The one disappointment for me in an otherwise admirable Wales performance was their kicking game. Sterile, unimaginative and speculative, better execution might have led to a score or two.

Can't disagree. During the warmup PNG no19 dropped a fair few high balls. I'd have put them on him all game but I stead Wales decided to grubber at the player and hope he jumped out of the way

[Midlands hobo]

55 minutes ago, tim2 said:

Just back from a soggy Doncaster.

Too many soft tries from Wales in the first half. Much better in the second half, increased intensity put PNG under a lot of pressure but their defense looks pretty good. They seem so much more structured than past PNG sides.

Perhaps watching on TV you don't realise how heavy the rain was. The handling by both sides in the conditions was very good IMO and helped the game flow.

I was in the corner section 46. The roof was leaking 

[RayCee]

1 hour ago, glossop saint said:

Just home from the game. Really terrible conditions for open rugby.  Can't doubt the Welsh heart and effort, just maybe the nouse and talent. Really cheering them on to get that try in the second half but not to be. 

Plenty of none league fans sat around us who seemed impressed enough by the effort and athleticism, especially from PNG.

Interestingly when we got there, there were other people at in our seats. Not a problem but they were insistent that they were in the correct seats. Did the organisers sell the same seats twice?! We ended up sitting nearer the half way line in presumably more expensive seats but did seem a bit odd. 

Like in an aeroplane being upgraded from economy to business class. Them's the breaks. 

[Gomersall]

9 hours ago, glossop saint said:

Just home from the game. Really terrible conditions for open rugby.  Can't doubt the Welsh heart and effort, just maybe the nouse and talent. Really cheering them on to get that try in the second half but not to be. 

Plenty of none league fans sat around us who seemed impressed enough by the effort and athleticism, especially from PNG.

Interestingly when we got there, there were other people at in our seats. Not a problem but they were insistent that they were in the correct seats. Did the organisers sell the same seats twice?! We ended up sitting nearer the half way line in presumably more expensive seats but did seem a bit odd. 

We’ve been to all 3 games at Donny. First game we were directed to the area we were sat in by a steward. Sat in our allocated seats. Second game steward said “things have changed, just sit where you like” even though her colleagues were pointing out seats to people who asked them. Third game, same as first game.

[Gomersall]

Am I missing something with this WC but last night they read out the team line ups and there were five named substitutes. I hadn’t picked up on this previously.