Rugby League World Cup: Wales v Cook Island recap, reaction and highlights

Round 1 of the Rugby League World Cup ended with a heart-stopper as the Cook Islands just held on to beat a valiant Wales side.

The tears during the anthem and a firey Cook Islands haka laid the platform for another exciting Rugby League World Cup fixture between two of the unheralded teams.

Wales took a simple approach to the start, keeping it tight through the middle and kicking long – often early. The Cook Island Kuki’s, on the other hand, searched for holes across the field. Anthony Gelling, Esan Marsters and Kayal Iro looked to use their footwork to break down the Wales defence in yardage.

Despite looking the more dangerous side with the ball throughout the first four tackles of a set, the Kuki’s struggled to finished them effectively. Johnathan Ford was caught with the ball on the last, Marsters almost did the same before Iro managed to get a rushed kick away shortly after. Meanwhile, Wales half, Josh Ralph, kicked exceptionally well to pin the Cook Islands deep in their own half to start.

It was Ralph’s boot that produced the first points of this one. He dinked one in behind the line before Rhodri Lloyd beat Iro to the ball to score.

The Cook Islands didn’t need to wait long for a chance to respond. Six again infringements and a ball batted down presented the Kuki’s with three consecutive sets on the Wales line. Tepai Moeroa went close to crashing over but couldn’t keep control of the ball as he attempted to plant it.

The Cook Islands played with a particularly invidualistic style with the ball. With little shape to the attack, they relied on individual moments of brilliance to break down the defence. That moment finally came in the 21st minute as Esan Marsters picked out two tired middles around the ruck. Breaking threw into the backfield, Marsters linked up with Gelling to level things up at 6-6.

Frustrating for coach Tony Iro, his side didn’t take that try and turn it into the dominance they perhaps should have. Instead, a six-again infringement provided Wales with free passage up the field before a late offload on the 3rd tackle extended the play and pushed them further up.

Having looked left throughout the opening 25 minutes, Wales set up in the same way with Caleb Aekins out the back to drag out the defence.

This time, however, Ollie Olds threw a dummy, stepped inside and past the fullback to score a beauty.

With the lead, Wales continued to manage the game well as the Cook Islands didn’t sway from their one-dimensional approach of looking to out-muscle their opposition. Still, the Welsh defence held firm, again defending multiple sets on their own line and carrying a 12-8 lead into the break as reward.

Iro’s message to his side at halftime was to “get on top.”

Little changed in regards to how the Cook Islands used the ball. In yardage, they played one off the ruck and looked to step their way through. In good ball, the crash and bash approach continued to come up short.

Esan Marsters can’t be faulted for his effort, but the ball became stuck in his hands too often. Ford is a capable attacking player but relies on having shape and moving bodies around him – something the Cook Islands didn’t play with.

Eventually, and it sums up their intent in attack to perfection, Davvy Moale beat five defenders on his way to the line in the 58th minute.

The fatigue they had built in the defence throughout the 20 minutes after halftime started to take effect and the Cook Islands played on the front foot through to the end.

An excellent set after points and another response in defence saw the Cook Islands start their next point-scoring set just short of halfway. Crashing up the field and finding Brad Takairangi on the last, the former Eel hung one up for Steven Marsters in the corner for the winger to push the lead out to 18-12 with 15 minutes to play.

It wouldn’t have surprised many to see Wales fall to bits through to full-time. Instead, they grew legs. A game-levelling try always looked beyond them but they left everything out on the field in their search for one. Two seven-tackle sets provided hope. A charge-down gave them one last set to attack the line with 60 seconds to play. It looked as though they’d found the try but Aekins couldn’t gather the ball and send it wide as the Cook Islands defence just held up to secure the 18-12 win.

Wales can be proud of their effort. They played an excellent first half, in particular. Meanwhile, the Cook Islands will have circled a few things to work on during the week in their build-up to their Round 2 clash with Papua New Guinea.

Key Takeaways

Josh Ralph

Josh Ralph played out an excellent first half in the Wales #7 jersey. He kicked well and managed the team through yardage. He looked dangerous while changing the tempo of his runs in good ball and played a leading role in building their 12-8 lead at the break.

Where the Cook Islands lacked direction and execution, Ralph was the difference between the two teams across the first 40 minutes. However, as you’d expect behind a pack that started to be beaten after halftime, the halfback struggled to replicate his first-half form in the second.

Wales excel without experience

It’s games like this that make the Rugby League World Cup so good. A team of part-time players giving it to one with far more experience on paper.

Only Rhys Williams came into this one with Super League experience. Caleb Aekins, on his way to Super League, is the only player with an NRL appearance to his name. The hope is that the international game develops into one made up of predominantly professional players but until then, these games are great to watch.

Cook Islands attack

For a team most expected to excite with the ball, the Cook Islands disappointed in this one. The muscling approach is perhaps the right one on paper. Against a side made up of part-timers that don’t have the level of strength and fitness as the majority of the Cook Islands players, crashing the middle and looking to build fatigue in the defensive line makes sense. However, they didn’t have the set plays or the organisation to make the most of those strong sets.

Kayal Iro, in particular, didn’t see enough of the ball out wide. He looked dangerous on the rare occasions he did. Quick on his feet and with a hearty fend, Iro is the player the Cook Islands need to build sets around. That didn’t happen often enough in this one.

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