England await as PNG book quarter-final spot

Leeds Rhinos forward and Papua New Guinea captain Rhyse Martin led his side to a 36-0 win against Wales in torrid conditions at the Eco Power Stadium in Doncaster last night.

The win confirmed the Kumuls place in the Rugby League World Cup quarter-final, setting up a huge clash against hosts England at the DW Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

PNG raced away to a 24-0 half-time lead before a much tighter second half saw the Kumuls cross for two more tries. The conditions were far from perfect for both sides with heavy rain causing havoc all evening, but Kumuls skipper Martin enjoyed the contest regardless of the weather.

"It was tough - but thank god it wasn't minus two [degrees]! We've got to be better when we've got the ball but it was enjoyable; the field is actually really good quality so it was good to be out there tonight.

"Wales were tough in that second half - I'm glad we got those points in the first half.?

? A first half masterclass!

Papua New Guinea brought the heat to a rainy Doncaster tonight, with a relentless first half putting them into the quarter-finals.

How impressive were the Kumuls tonight?#RLWC2021 | #PNGWAL pic.twitter.com/tCAj8L1RnL
— Rugby League World Cup 2021 (@RLWC2021) October 31, 2022

Despite the challenging conditions, PNG maintained their ethos of playing open and expansive rugby league. The Kumuls laid a solid platform down the middle thanks to their unrelenting intensity and endeavour, before letting their talented spine take control of the sides attack.

And although it didn't quite come to fruition at times last night, Martin is adamant that their efforts will pay dividends in the long run.

"When things get tough, we hang in there really well. We've still got a lot to work on but just the way we play, that Kumuls brand of footy where we're throwing the ball around and chancing our hand. Tonight it didn't pay off but it will at some point. I think the way we're playing is an exciting brand of footy."

The Kumuls will need to be at their best on Saturday to defy the odds and defeat a high flying England team. Martin and his PNG teammates have been afforded minimal time to prepare for the challenge ahead due to the short turnaround, but they remain enthusiastic about the prospect of taking on the host nation in front of a packed DW Stadium this weekend.

"We're excited. We've had a good three games so far so hopefully we can put our best game in next week.

"They're [England] in red hot form. We've got a big job ahead of us, but we've just got to recover from this one, prepare as best we can and turn up on Saturday when we play them. That's all we can do and we'll give it our all. I can't wait for it."