Wales 16 United States 24: Wales are scalped as Tomahawks march on

Wales coach Iestyn Harris put on a brave face after watching his side crash out of the World Cup with a second consecutive defeat to a qualifying team.

Beaten 32-16 by Italy at the Millennium Stadium in their opening group match, Harris’s side went down 24-16 to the United States in front of a shell-shocked crowd of 8,109 in Wrexham.

It means Wales will be playing for pride in their final pool match against Cook Islands in Neath next Sunday while the Tomahawks eye an unlikely quarter-final against Australia in Wrexham.

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“It’s a bad result but, as the World Cup has shown, I don’t think you can tag anybody as a bad team,” said Harris.

“There wasn’t one USA man in the whole squad. There’s a lot of Australian-based players in there who are of a very good quality.”

There was no hint of the shock to come when Christiaan Roets gave Wales the lead with the first of his two tries but Harris’s side conceded 24 points before producing a late rally.

“We had probably 20 or 25 opportunities in the game to score points,” said Harris.

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“We took a lot of wrong options, a lot of our decision-making wasn’t on and ultimately it’s come down to the fact that we haven’t hit the best of us.”

Former Hull KR forward Clint Newton claimed two of the Tomahawks’ five tries while skipper Joseph Paulo scored a try and kicked two goals in a second consecutive man-of-the-match performance.

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.

Yesterday’s display demonstrated their opening win over Cook Islands in Bristol was no fluke and they will secure a place in the last eight if they beat Scotland in their last pool match in Salford on Thursday or if Cook Islands fail to beat Tonga at Leigh tomorrow.

“I’m really proud,” said USA coach Terry Matterson, who stepped in on the eve of the tournament. “I didn’t know these guys until two weeks ago and they’ve worked really hard in that time.”