THE Welsh go into this World Cup with a combination of youth and experience, but the youngsters are still players to watch.

Injuries and unavailability have hindered the build-up in recent months, plus a number of others from the 2022 World Cup squad who reached the semi-finals are now no longer playing the game or are not available for Wales. It means just four who played in Sheffield four years ago are available for Wollongong, and the Wales squad contains three uncapped players.

However, Alan Caron’s potential starting five still has a lot of Super League experience, with players who have performed well at the highest level this season. The second group match, which is against Ireland, could well be the one that determines whether Wales will be in the semi-finals or aiming for a fifth-placed finish.

KEY PLAYERS

Jodie Boyd-Ward, the captain of Leeds Rhinos, has confirmed that this will be her last World Cup, so expect her to go out with a bang, as she aims to become the first Wheelchair Rugby League player to win 50 international caps.

She could achieve that a target in the third match, which is against USA, if she plays in all games.

At the other end of the scale, Matthew Turner is just starting out, but he’s done superbly in his first season in Super League, appearing in the top five try-scorers. He turns 17 on the day of the Ireland match, so will be looking to make it a happy birthday with a win.

COACH

ALAN CARON returned to the role of Wales head coach at the start of 2023 after first leading the side in their inaugural matches in 2012 as player-coach. 

Also the head coach of Birmingham Hurricanes, where he also plays, he’ll be hoping to coach Wales to a third World Cup semi-final.

SQUAD

John Berriman, Jodie Boyd-Ward, Jonathan Gill, Andrew Higgins, Fionn McCabe, Gareth Ramsey, Sid Ramsey, Lee Sargent, Matthew Turner, Martin Turner, Mark Williams, Stuart Williams.