Papua New Guinea cruise past Wales to confirm Quarter Final berth

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Papua New Guinea Men v Wales Men

Papua New Guinea will roll into their quarter final matchup against England off the back of a victory, comfortably handling business against Wales to the tune of 36 points to nil.

It all opened up for Kyle Laybutt in the 7th minute, the five-eighth spotting a gaping hole in the defensive line, throwing a dummy and going straight through it for the opening points of the match.

It was beginning to look ominous for Wales when PNG found themselves in attacking position just 4 minutes later, and Nixon Putt was able to easily crash his way over the line standing very shallow at first receiver. 

Wales came close to hitting back in the 22nd minute, with winger Kyle Evans getting a dream bounce from a crossfield kick into the in goal, but he couldn't hold onto the ball in the wet conditions. PNG made them pay, with Jimmy Ngutlik spotting a hole and accelerating through it on play 2 of the resultant 7 tackle set, going 70 metres to put a dagger through the Welsh hearts. 

Wales' defence close to the line continued to be sub-par, with Daniel Russell running hard and breaching it with ease to reach out and score the try. It was all she wrote scoring wise for the first half, the Kumuls taking a 24-0 lead into the sheds. 

Papua New Guinea's defence was perhaps even better than their attack, a statement which was certainly correct in the second half as they scored only two tries but defended what felt like about 15 sets close to the line. 

The first of those two tries came in the 47th minute. Wales themselves were doing a good job of repelling the Kumuls attack for a change, but eventually they just ran out of gas, with Nixon Putt cutting through for his second try of the match. 

It was a very sloppy affair from about the 50th minute until full time. The rain kept on pouring down resulting in poor mistakes from both teams, particularly PNG, who finished with just a 68% completion rate.

Despite the ample opportunity, Wales couldn't take advantage and put points on the board. The closest they came was when Kyle Evans lost the ball over the line in the 76th minute. 

The Kumuls put the icing on the cake with 2 minutes to go, Kyle Laybutt's kick being allowed to bounce and Jimmy Ngutlik was there to regather the ball and score his second try.

Wales had one last throw of the dice after a successful short kickoff, but it was to no avail as Papua New Guinea won by 36. 

It brings the Welsh world cup campaign to an end, while Papua New Guinea will face England in a quarter final next week.