Wales aim to finish on a high

Wales captain Craig Kopczak has said that his side want to finish their Rugby League World Cup 2013 campaign with a win when they take on Cook Islands at Neath on Sunday.

Both sides are now unable to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament but Kopczak says that won’t phase either side as there is pride at stake.

“We want to win,” Kopczak said. “And I’m sure Cook Islands will be feeling the same too. We want to finish this competition on a high, go out there with a clear intention to finish with a win and finish second in the group.

“I do encourage those who haven’t got tickets yet to buy now and come down and watch us play. We play some really good Rugby League and we want to show the South Wales public what we can do. Cook Islands are in the same position as us now so I think we see a game full of skills that will show the public how good Rugby League can be.

“Last week was a really tough physical game. It was an arm wrestle until half-time but a few things didn’t go our way in the second half so we’ve got to put all of that right for the Cook Islands game.

“I was pleased by the way that we stuck in there at the end of last week’s game, we just need to show that for the entire 80 minutes this week.”

Kopczak says that the team were delighted with the 8,000 plus crowd at Wrexham last Sunday who didn’t stop cheering Wales on, and he hopes for a similar atmosphere in Neath this Sunday.

“It was really good how the crowd in Wrexham stuck by us and created a good atmosphere,” he said. “They were cheering us on and shouting ‘Wales’ the whole time. Hopefully we’ll have the same kind of atmosphere in Neath this Sunday.”

The main stand is sold out for Wales v Cook Islands at The Gnoll in Neath this Sunday but there are limited tickets available for the Family Stand and for the terracing. Go to www.rlwc2013.com to buy. Prices are £10 for adults and £5 for concessions.