Papua New Guinea 36-0 Wales attracts strong attendance as Leigh Leopards man shines

In the rain last night you could have forgiven the fans and players alike for not wanting to be at the Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster for the final group game of the Rugby League World Cup, but this is rugby league and Papua New Guinea and Wales still put on a show in the rain.

The Kumuls won 36-0 to book a place in the quarter-finals against Shaun Wane’s England next week at Wigan Warriors’ DW Stadium.

It came on the back of a strong first half as PNG led 24-0 at the break as Kyle Laybutt got the scoring underway.

Edwin Ipape of the Leigh Leopards was again at the heart of things for PNG with three assists for the Championship Player of the Year.

Man of the Match Nixon Putt scored twice on the night in a big win for the Kumuls ahead of the quarter-finals.

But how many fans were in attendance to watch this strong display from the Kumuls last night. Well the Eco-Power stadium recorded an attendance just shy of 7,000 as 6,968 fans showed up to see the final group game of the tournament.

This dwarfs the earlier attendance at the stadium in the World Cup with the games between France and Greece and Samoa and Greece only attracting 4,000 which is the lowest of the tournament with the average around 6,000.