Wales crash out

Clint Newton crosses for one of his two tries

4 November 2013

Wales became the first team to bow out of the World Cup after becoming the latest scalp for surprise package the United States in front of a shell-shocked crowd of 8,109 in Wrexham.

The Welsh, the tournament co-hosts who were semi-finalists in 1995 and 2000, were beaten by Italy in their opening group match and on Sunday produced a woeful display to go down to the other qualifiers.

Former Hull KR forward Clint Newton scored two of the Tomahawks' five tries as they edged to the cusp of an unlikely quarter-final with Australia at the Racecourse Ground.

There was no hint of the shock to come when Christiaan Roets gave Wales the lead with a 16th-minute try, but Iestyn Harris' side conceded 24 points before producing a late rally to go down 24-16.

The Tomahawks, thrown together at short notice, have now won five matches in a row, following their Colonial Cup double over Canada and their stunning warm-up victory over France in Toulouse.

Sunday's display, orchestrated by Parramatta stand-off Joseph Paulo, demonstrated that their win over Cook Islands in Bristol was no fluke.

They will secure a place in the last eight if they beat Scotland in the last pool match in Salford next Thursday or if Cook Islands fail to beat Tonga at Leigh on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Ben Hellewell's second try gave Scotland a creditable 30-30 draw against Italy following another blockbuster encounter at Derwent Park.

Five days earlier, the Scots had edged out Tonga 26-24 in Workington and were given another stern test of their credentials by Group C rivals Italy, who were looking to make it a hat-trick of wins against British opposition after defeating England in a friendly and Wales in their opening match of this competition.

The Danny Brough-inspired Bravehearts appeared to be on course for another victory after taking a 14-0 lead but Italy came roaring back.

Steve McCormack's men kept their noses in front up until the hour mark in front of a 7,280 pro-Scotland crowd, but they looked increasingly jaded in the second half and Italy took advantage to move into a 30-26 lead.

But the Azzurri were hit on the break and Hellewell grounded in the right corner to earn Scotland a deserved point that could prove crucial to their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.