Wales disappointed in the 2019 Nines World Cup, played on 18-19 November at Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta, Australia, finishing bottom of their group, but did save face in their final game after seeing off Lebanon, a team who had beaten England earlier in the day.
Australia ended up winning the men’s tournament, whilst New Zealand took the women’s.
One day one, Jake Connor enjoyed a birthday to remember as England opened their World Cup Nines campaign with a 25-4 victory over Wales.
The Hull FC player ran in two tries as Wayne Bennett’s men began their campaign with an emphatic win on day one, making it a memorable 25th birthday for Connor.
England led 17-0 at half-time in their Pool B match thanks to tries from Daryl Clark and Sam Tomkins, the latter being a five-pointer for the Catalans Dragons back dotting down in the bonus zone behind the posts.
There was no let-up after the break either and Jermaine McGillvary got the ball rolling with England’s third try, followed by Connor striking twice after the break before Mike Butt grabbed an unconverted consolation score for Wales.
England were heading for an early exit after suffering a shock 16-13 defeat to Lebanon in their second match on day two.
However, Wales came to their rescue by defeating the Lebanese 25-14 to gain their first win of the competition and England bounced back with a 38-4 rout of France to clinch top spot in Pool B.
Then came news that Lebanon had been stripped of the points they accrued from their opening win over the French for playing an under-age Jacob Kiraz.
Lebanon coach Rick Stone, who said he was unaware of changes to the minimum-age rule, was forced to leave out both Kiraz and fellow youngster Jordan Samrani for the rest of the tournament but the Cedars still managed to get over the top of England.
Acting captain Gareth Widdop and Sam Tomkins scored tries for an out-played England, who were then forced to watch as their fate was determined by Wales.
John Kear’s men had earlier suffered a 23-6 defeat by France, Regan Grace scoring their only try, but they were energised against Lebanon and dominated the game from start to finish.
Mike Butt opened the scoring and captain Elliot Kear touched down either side of half-time to put Wales in control before Lloyd White wrapped up a convincing win with their fourth try.
That enabled Wales to finish the tournament on a high and the result clearly lifted England’s spirits for the decider against France, although they fell behind early to a try from Alrix Da Costa. England lost in the semi-final to New Zealand.
| 1 | BK | Elliot Kear (captain) | 29 November 1988 (aged 30) |  London Broncos |
| 2 | BK | Rhys Williams | 8 December 1989 (aged 29) | London Broncos |
| 3 | BK | Rhys Evans | 30 October 1992 (aged 26) | Bradford Bulls |
| 4 | BK | Mike Butt | 6 May 1995 (aged 24) | Swinton Lions |
| 5 | BK | Regan Grace | 12 December 1996 (aged 22) | St Helens |
| 6 | BK | Dalton Grant | 21 April 1990 (aged 29) | Bradford Bulls |
| 7 | BK | James Olds | 6 April 1991 (aged 28) |  Wests Panthers |
| 8 | BK | Will Evans | 4 May 2001 (aged 18) | Burleigh Bears |
| 9 | FW | Lloyd White | 9 August 1988 (aged 31) | Mackay Cutters |
| 10 | FW | Curtis Davies | 17 January 1997 (aged 22) | Halifax |
| 11 | BK | Cobi Green | 4 March 1999 (aged 20) | Bradford Bulls |
| 12 | FW | Ben Evans | 30 October 1992 (aged 26) |  Toulouse Olympique |
| 13 | FW | Daniel Fleming | 8 July 1992 (aged 27) | Halifax |
| 14 | FW | Rhodri Lloyd | 22 July 1993 (aged 26) | Swinton Lions |
| 15 | FW | Gavin Bennion | 31 December 1993 (aged 25) | Swinton Lions |
| 16 | FW | Connor Davies | 17 January 1997 (aged 22) | Halifax |
DAY ONE RESULTS
Pool B – France 8-12 Lebanon
Women’s – England 25-4 Papua New Guinea
Pool B – England 25-4 Wales
Pool C – Tonga 7-30 Cook Islands
Pool C – Samoa 32-17 Fiji
Women’s – Australia 22-8 New Zealand
Pool A – Australia 25-12 New Zealand
Pool A – Papua New Guinea 27-10 USA
DAY TWO SCHEDULE
Women’s — New Zealand 24-12 Papua New Guinea
Pool B — France 23-6 Wales
Pool B — England 13-16 Lebanon
Pool C — Samoa 17-4 Cook Islands
Pool C — Tonga 21-17 Fiji
Pool A — New Zealand 18-17 Papua New Guinea
Pool A — Australia 41-11 USA
Women’s — Australia 42-4 England
Pool B — Lebanon 14-25 Wales
Pool B — England 38-4 France
Pool C — Fiji 10-12 Cook Islands
Pool C — Samoa 24-20 Tonga
Pool A — New Zealand 46-0 USA
Pool A — Australia 26-0 Papua New Guinea
Women’s — Australia 30-6 Papua New Guinea
Women’s — New Zealand 33-4 England
SF1 — New Zealand 22-6 England
SF2 — Australia 25-8 Samoa
Women’s Final — New Zealand 17-15 Australia
Men’s Final — Australia 24-10 New Zealand
