There are two teams left to get their Rugby League World Cup campaigns underway and they will do so on Wednesday when Wales take on the Cook Islands in the second match in Group D to finish off the opening set of fixtures in the tournament.
These two teams have watched on as Tonga and Papua New Guinea failed to really impress and might see an opportunity for themselves to come out of the group. They will know they have to win this match in order for that to happen though.
Where to watch
The match will be shown on the BBC Two channel with the build-up at the Leigh Sports Village beginning at 7pm and the match kicking off at 7.30pm.
Wales
Through the years the Welsh have given a good account of themselves in this tournament but as they have slid down the rankings in the world game their task to be competitive at a World Cup has got ever tougher. They had it very tough in 2017 when they had to go to Papua New Guinea and compete in the insane heat in that part of the world and now they have to go in with three punishing sides in terms of their forwards so this isn’t going to be a walk in the park either.
What the Welsh lack in opportunity and system help they make up for in spirit and passion and we know they will give it their all in this match but they have not been helped at all by an inability to have their best players available either through injury, players playing for England or suspension. The one thing which might suit the Welsh a little more than the three sides in this group are conditions. They will be at home in the greasy conditions.
Cook Islands
This will be just the third time that the Cook Islands have competed at the Rugby League World Cup. They are yet to get out of the group stage of the competition and aren’t seeded to do that here either but that will be their initial objective. Should they do that then this will quantify as a decent tournament for them whatever happens after that. They weren’t at the 2017 version of this event so they will be eager to make an impression now they are back here.
While there are one or two players from the second tiers of England and Australia, there is actually a good group of Super League and NRL talents at the disposal of the coach Tony Iro. They look well equipped in the forwards which I think to have any chance in this competition is something you have to be. Whether the backs have the creativity to take advantage of that pack remains to be seen but on the face of it Cook Islands should be competitive in this section.
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Team News
Wales are going to be without arguably their three biggest players in Regan Grace, Morgan Knowles and Gil DUdson for this match. Grace is out injured, Knowles chose England over Wales and Dudson is suspended.
Cook Islands will have recognisable faces in their squad for fans of Super League with Zane Tetevano, Brad Takairangi, Dom Peyroux, Dylan Napa and Tinirau Arona all in it while Anthony Gelling is no stranger to Wigan fans either.
Betting
We know that Wales will be full of spirit and organisation going into this match but neither of those put points on the board and that is what this game is all about. I think the Cook Islands would be good things here anyway but they happen to be getting Wales at just the right time given that the Welsh are without Gil Dudson as well as the two they knew they would be without. It leaves just two top flight players in their squad.
Although two more will be in Super League next season, they are at the Leigh Centurions who only played a Grand Final a couple of weeks ago. Cook Islands look a much more rounded side and they have some real big units in their pack and the longer this one goes on the more I’m sure they will tire out the Welsh defence in tough conditions and ultimately get their side on the front foot more regularly. I am concerned that the Cook Islanders haven’t had a game but they’ve been in the country long enough to have built up enough of a cohesion to come up with a comfortable win here.
Tips
Back Cook Islands (-17.5pts) to beat Wales for a 3/10 stake at 1.87 with BetVictor
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