Irish dismay at Cup format

IRELAND coach Mark Aston called on World Cup organisers to take a look at the format after his side bowed out despite winning two of their three group matches.

The Irish, who were 34-6 winners over Wales in Perth yesterday, have been one of the successes of the tournament but lost out on qualification for the knockout stages to Papua New Guinea.

Huddersfield second-row Oliver Roberts scored two of Ireland’s six tries and Finn contributed 14 points as they overcame sweltering heat to condemn Wales to a third straight defeat.

Aston pointed to the contrast provided by Samoa, who are in the quarter-finals despite gaining only a draw from their three games because three teams go through from their group.

“It’s disappointing and something that probably needs looking at,” Aston said. “We deserve to go through, I would suggest.”

Ireland captain Liam Finn was even more critical, claiming the format lacks logic and could hamper the drive to attract new supporters.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Finn said. “Try and explain that to someone who’s not in rugby league - that’s how you judge it. I’ll go home and tell someone we won two games and didn’t get through and another team got through from drawing one.

“How do you attract new fans when that’s how you explain the game to them?”

Wales were left still looking for a first World Cup win since 2000 but their performances have come as little surprise after a spate of withdrawals left them with just three Super League players.