It's no surprise Joe Burke’s plugging the leaks in Wales’ defence - he’s even been doing it on his days off.
The West Wales Raiders forward works as a plumber and has been making the long trip home to keep on top of the day job. Burke was the World Cup’s third top defensive performer after the opening two rounds with a massive 89 tackles. He’ll be putting in another stint on Monday night as Wales bid to cause a shock against Papua New Guinea in Doncaster.
Burke, 32, said: “When we were based in Preston it was a four-hour trip back to south Wales. But four hours is nothing really when you’ve got an opportunity to play in a World Cup. It might be back to reality soon but hopefully not just yet."
Wales have still not won a World Cup game since 2000 but they’ve won plenty of fans with their spirit in this tournament. John Kear’s side lost 18-12 against Cook Islands and then 32-6 against star-studded Tonga who they led approaching half-time. Wales can mathematically still qualify but would need to win by 22 points or more to set-up a quarter-final against England.
But Burke insisted: “It’s clear to see the effort and attitude we’ve brought as a team. There’s been a real fight from the boys to work to the last minute regardless of who’s in front of us. Tonga beating the Cook Islands 92-10 today highlights how much effort we put in that night to keep the Tonga scoreline to 32-6.
"Twenty two years is a long, long time without a World Cup win especially when we’re getting wins in between World Cups. We’ve a gameplan that we think can get us a victory against PNG and our next step is to get on the right side of those results.
"Everyone is already looking past us and it’s more ‘well done, Wales but…’ Yes, PNG are a good team. They're a physical team who like to assert their dominance on opponents. They have some superstars like Alex Johnston and Lachlan Lam but we’ve trained well, done our video and have a plan we're prepared to stick to."
And the ex-Oldham and South Wales Scorpions prop, who played one Super League game with Crusaders in 2011, loves being in the thick of it all with his defensive duties. He said: "I’ve been used to it in my domestic career. Most of the teams I've played for I've ended up playing 80 minutes if not 60 plus. I'm used to defending. You’re in there and you have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. That's none more so than facing Tonga, Cook Islands and PNG. It’s about having the want and the fight to do it."
