* As with my stats in Knights games through out the year the Errors and Missed Tackles Stats are in reversed order, The higher your ranking the worse it is e.g Ireland are ranked 2nd in Errors, This means they make the second highest amount of errors out of the 14 teams competing at the 2013 RLWC
Christiaan Roets is set to win his 14th cap on his home ground in Wales's must-win Rugby League World Cup group D clash with the United States at Wrexham on Sunday.
The 33-year-old North Wales Crusaders centre replaces Wigan's Rhodri Lloyd in the only change to the side that lost 32-16 to Italy in Cardiff, although Ross Divorty and Anthony Walker are hoping to force their way in after being omitted from coach Iestyn Harris' 19-man squad last weekend.
"We've had a good week and preparations have been going well," said Harris. "We've a couple of things we need to work on but the boys are really gelling after a couple of weeks together.
"We were a little bit of the pace against Italy. Rugby league is a game of small margins and we weren't quite where we wanted to be. I'm expecting the players to be a lot more up to speed this week because they've trained exceptionally well.
"By Sunday I expect those areas to have been ironed out and that we will be a lot more fluent in our attacking structure. I also want us to be a bit more aggressive with our line speed as well.
"There was a lot of effort against Italy but I thought at times we sent that energy in the wrong direction. We've spoken about that as a group yesterday and everyone in the squad now knows how to channel that energy and passion in the proper direction.
"We want a more consistent performance against the USA on Sunday - if we do that then we're a match for anybody."
Terry Matterson's USA team are on a high following a shock pre-tournament win over France in Toulouse and a 32-20 victory over Cook Islands on their World Cup debut in Bristol on Wednesday.
One team will take a huge leap towards snatching a quarter-finals berth in this match between one of the World Cup hosts and one of the tournament's surprise success stories so far.
History and home ground advantage is on Wales' side but the United States can't be written off after their fast-finishing win over the Cook Islands this week.
Wales succumbed to a star-studded Italy outfit on the opening day of the World Cup in Cardiff, conceding the final four tries of the game after both sides had crossed twice in the first half.
That defeat would have stung in front of their home fans and now their tournament could be effectively ended with a defeat against the Americans, with just one team to advance from Group D to the quarter-final stages.
In fact, after the USA's surprise triumph over the Cook Islands, this looms as the crucial match from Group D. The Tomahawks are in fine form after shocking France in their warm-up match ahead of the Cook Islands victory, and will be almost certain to advance to the quarter-finals if they can make it three wins in as many weeks.
Wales meanwhile still have the chance to top the group if they defeat the Americans here and the Cook Islands next week.
Watch Out Wales
Rising Parramatta Eels star Joseph Paulo was inspirational for the Americans against the Cook Islands, with the ball-playing big man setting up three tries and scoring another himself from his own charge down. Paulo also controlled the Tomahawks' kicking game and put in plenty of defensive work with 18 tackles.
The team's captain and goal-kicker is as crucial to his own team as any single player is to any nation at this tournament.
Wales will also need to contain and impressive front-row pairing in the form of Mark Offerdahl – a Manly junior now plying his trade in France – and Wigan-bound West Tiger Eddy Pettybourne, who both notched some great numbers against the Cook Islands.
Offerdahl made 19 hit-ups for 146 metres plus 28 tackles, seven tackle-breaks and a try, while Pettybourne made 131 metres from 17 carries to go with 28 tackles. If the Americans can win the battle of the big men they'll give Paulo a great chance to wreak some havoc.
Watch Out USA
Bradford Bulls winger Elliot Kear was one of the standouts for Wales against Italy, breaking clear on the right flank to set up one try and out-leaping his rival winger to bring down a bomb and score another.
He also made the most runs of any Welsh player, with 15 – including eight darts from dummy-half. Expect to see the Welsh halves (who both set up tries with kicks against Italy) to send the ball towards Kear's wing whenever possible.
Twin brothers Ben and Rhys Evans also impressed in a losing side – with back-rower Ben leading the defensive effort with 47 tackles while Rhys provided four tackle-breaks and a line-break assist from fullback.
The Warrington Wolves pair will need to play a key part again if Wales are to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Where It Will Be Won
Fitness. These are two evenly matched teams, with Paulo and fellow NRL players Pettybourne, Clint Newton and Joel Luani possibly giving the Americans the edge in talent, but that's balanced out by the fact the Welsh are playing in front of a home crowd.
The factor that really gives Wales the edge is the schedule – Wales will have had eight days to recover from last weekend's game when this match kicks off, while the Tomahawks will need to bounce back from their midweek match in Bristol. Do they have the fitness to match it with their fresher rivals?
Televised
7mate – Live from 12.30am (NSW); 11.30pm Sunday (Qld).
The Way We See It
Form is certainly on the Americans' side but home ground advantage and a full weeks' rest should give Wales the edge here. If Paulo fires again the Tomahawks could spring yet another upset, but we'll predict a tight Welsh win. Wales by four points.
Wales need to beat a strong USA team to have any hope of making the quarter-finals of the Rugby League World Cup. WREXHAM, Wales, Nov 2 PA - Welsh Rugby League World Cup survival hopes will be on the line at the Racecourse Ground on Sunday when they host surprise package USA.
Iestyn Harris' men put themselves under pressure with their opening-day 32-16 defeat by Italy and must win both their remaining group matches to keep alive their chances of a place in the last eight and a potential clash with tournament favourites Australia.
They take on the Cook Islands in Neath the following Sunday but first must get past Terry Matterson's Tomahawks, who are on a high following their pre-tournament win over France in Toulouse and their 32-20 triumph over the Cooks on their World Cup debut in Bristol.
The Americans will certainly be a different proposition to the team that lost 66-10 and 92-4 to Wales in their only previous meetings, a two-match series in Philadelphia in 1995, especially with the likes of Parramatta stand-off Joseph Paulo, former Hull KR favourite Clint Newton and Wigan-bound Eddy Pettybourne in their ranks.
Harris, who scored 30 of the points in the 66-10 victory, said: "They're a very organised and disciplined team and they've got good players throughout the squad.
"The bulk of their squad is from Australia with some NRL experience thrown in there. The likes of Clint Newton and Eddy Pettybourne are going to be a handful and they've got other players of a very high standard.
"We've got to get to our best quickly and we didn't do that against Italy. When you don't do that against sides that have got good players you come unstuck and that's what happened last weekend.
"We've got to make sure our performance is at the top level and if that's the case, then we'll give it a good go."
The Tomahawks, along with the Cook Islands, were the last team to open their World Cup campaign and have had just three days to prepare for this match but scrum-half Craig Priestly, who scored their match-clinching try at the Memorial Stadium, is confident and is already eyeing a quarter-final clash with the Kangaroos.
"We don't get much of a rest but we will be working off the momentum we have built," he said.
"The preparation for the France game was very limited. We only had one training session the night before, so to go out and do what we did was unbelievable.
"We took so much confidence from those games and I think it showed as we were heading into the Cook Islands game.
"I think we can progress as far as we want to. We have to start by getting a good win over Wales, then if we can replicate that performance against Scotland we will probably be taking on Australia.
"If we get that far we would have the chance to pull off one of the greatest upsets in Rugby League history. You never know."
US shock defeat of Wales at Rugby League World Cup
AP
NOVEMBER 04, 2013 3:29AM
US players parade the national flag after their sides 24-16 victory at the Glyndwr University Racecourse Stadium in Wrexham. Picture: Michael Steele/Getty Images Source: Getty Images
THROWN together at short notice and barely knowing each other's names, the USA Tomahawks were a disorganized rabble as they headed to Europe for the country's first appearance at the rugby league World Cup.
"Shock The World" was their motto.So far, they are doing just that.The Tomahawks are on the cusp of a place in the quarterfinals - and a likely meeting with tournament favorite Australia - after beating co-host Wales 24-16 for their second straight group-stage win.
"The boys keep defying belief, to be honest," said coach Terry Matterson, who has only been in the job less than a month.
If the Cook Islands lose to Tonga on Tuesday, the U.S. is guaranteed to finish first in Group D and reach the last eight.Even with a win, the Tomahawks can still ensure first place by beating Scotland on Thursday.
Not bad for a group of players who aren't even getting paid to play in the tournament.
Between the 32-20 win over the Cook Islands on Wednesday and this memorable win over Wales, the U.S. had one training session and spent Saturday watching Premier League football, attending Manchester City's 7-0 hammering of Norwich.
"They are making me proud, and their families and teammates proud, too," Matterson said. "The more we can do here, it will obviously raise awareness (in the U.S)."
Clint Newton, the son of former Australia golfer Jack Newton, scored two of the Americans' five tries after going behind early to Wales in Wrexham.
Matt Peterson, captain Joseph Paulo - man of the match for the second time this tournament - and Tui Samoa also scored tries for the Tomahawks, who had just three U.S.-born players in the starting team.
The Tomahawks have now won five matches in a row, starting with a Colonial Cup double over Canada and followed by an extraordinary warmup win over France in Toulouse on the eve of the World Cup.
Wales, a semifinalist in 1995 and 2000, became the first team to be eliminated for the tournament, having lost to Italy in their opening match.
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Taylor Welch (left) up against Wales' Rhys Evans. Picture: Michael Steele/Getty Images
Very surprised with how well the Americans are going so far, 2 great games they have played. Unfortunately for them they will end up playing Australia in the finals though.
