Big win not enough to save Irish

IRELAND has shaken off the loss of playmaker Joe Keyes to wrap up its Rugby League World Cup with a 34-6 win over Wales in Perth.

The Irish lost their No.6 to a knee injury midway through the first half but did enough to record their second victory of the tournament.

Despite the win, the Irish failed to qualify for the quarter-finals, after finishing second behind Papua New Guinea in Group C.

Keyes suffered a suspected medial ligament strain, prompting a reshuffle with Api Pewhairangi shifted into the halves. Oliver Roberts, who came on for Keyes, made an immediate impact as he barged over in the 31st minute to make it 12-0.

After Josh Ralph threw a beautiful cut-out pass to set up Ben Morris, Wales suddenly gave itself a sniff at 22-6 with 20 minutes remaining.

However the Welsh fightback was short-lived as Roberts forced his way over from dummy-half for a soft try in the 68th minute.

The victory was Ireland’s biggest in a World Cup — surpassing its 36-12 victory over Italy two weeks ago.

Papua New Guinea advanced to quarter-finals with a 64-0 flogging of the US and unveiled a potential future star in Lachlan Lam. The Kumuls confirmed they would finish top of Group C with the emphatic victory yesterday.

Five-eighth Lam, the son of PNG great and former coach Adrian, was a standout in his international debut, scoring two first-half tries.