photo by Ian Lovell

Wales will be looking to keep up their 100% record in 2007 when they take on Lebanon this Friday in Widnes (kick-off 8pm) for a place in the Rugby League World Cup repechage Final.

The Dragons missed out on qualifying for the World Cup last Sunday despite beating Scotland 18-16 in Glasgow. Scotland qualified due to their 21-14 win over Wales in Bridgend last year which gave them a 37-32 aggregate win.

So Wales must now win two more games to become the tenth and final side to qualify for Australia next year. Their encounter with the Lebanese on Friday will be the second semi-final of the day with Samoa strong favourites to beat USA in the 5.45pm kick-off in Widnes. Both of these matches are live on Sky Sports.

Wales and Lebanon have met just once before at full international level and that was in the 2000 World Cup where Wales won 24-22 in a classic match in swirling wind and rain in Llanelli.

Friday’s match could be just as close despite Lebanon missing some of their big names like injured Tripoli-born Sydney Bulldogs star, Hazem El Masri, the top points scorer in NRL history with 2,040 points, and Robbie Farah who Wests Tigers have refused to release.

Lebanon are unbeaten in seven years since their defeat to Wales having notched up ten wins and three draws in that time and scoring 551 points in the process. These wins include three successive victories over France. Their international record is one of the World’s best with only two defeats in their 19-game nine-year history - New Zealand being the only other side to beat them, a comprehensive 64-0 in the 2000 World Cup.

However, they are now facing their worst injury crisis in their short history. Penrith Panthers’ Hassan Saleh, Wests Tigers’ Allen Soultan and Sydney Bulls’ Charlie Nohra have all been sent back to Australia for treatment and will take no more part in the qualification tournament, while seven other players who starred in the 16-16 draw with Ireland last Friday

are having treatment and there are rumours that their 41-year old coach Darren Maroon may have to be on the bench as a substitute.

Lee Briers and Iestyn Harris are the only two Wales’ survivors from the last encounter with Lebanon and both look to play a crucial role in Friday’s match. Harris was man of the match in Llanelli seven years ago after scoring two tries, creating the other three and converting twice. Wales will look for the same again on Friday when their two inspirational half-backs line up.

Wales will be selecting a squad of 20 to train on Thursday and tight-lipped coach Martin Hall won’t be naming his side until the day of the match.

“We’ll be back together on Thursday,” he said, “And then we’ll find out then who’s fit and who’s not.”

Wales’ assistant coach Kevin Ellis said that the Welsh side were disappointed after Sunday’s match but are now looking forward to taking on the Lebanese.

“We were disappointed following the match in Scotland,” Ellis said. “I’ve never seen a Welsh dressing room that was so low after a game. We felt we let ourselves down and it was our mistakes that cost us automatic qualification.

“We just have to learn from that game and we need to get all the negativity out of us and think of the positives, which are we won the game and we’re still unbeaten this year. That’s what we need to install into the lads – that we’re unbeaten and we need to be still unbeaten after the Lebanon match.”

The only player that has definitely been ruled out for Wales is Celtic Crusaders’ new signing Mark Lennon. Injured in the closing stages of Wales’ 50-10 win over Papua New Guinea two weeks ago, Lennon had a scan on his hamstring this week and was ruled out for at least a month.

“It was tough to miss the game last Sunday,” Lennon said. “It’s the first I’ve missed for Wales in the seven years since I made my debut. I’ll be watching the Lebanon match on Friday, which will be just as tough, and with this rest, I’ll be fit for Celtic Crusaders training in January.”

The winners of the semi-final matches will compete at Featherstone Rovers’ Chris Moyles Stadium next Wednesday 14th November for that final World Cup finals spot and a meeting with Tonga on October 31st 2008 in Penrith.

article by Ian Golden
7 November 2007