“We didn’t respect them as much as we should have,” admitted PNG LNG Kumuls captain, David Mead, after yesterday’s 14-6 win over Ireland.
Speaking at the press conference on Sunday, Mead said there were plenty of points on offer but the team didn’t execute their set plays as well as they did in the win over Wales.
“We’ve got guys there who can break the line on their own, but we probably just got too excited and tried to score points like we did against Wales.
“We didn’t really earn the right to play out the back kind of football.”
Mead said against Wales, the Kumuls played tough, were able to hold on to the ball and complete sets.
“That’s something we will definitely look at fixing this week,” says the skipper.
“The Irish played tough right from the start. They came out firing and held that intensity for 80 minutes. They’re certainly a quality side. They kept us on our toes.
“But we were able to defend our line. It certainly was a huge credit to our players across the park who defended really well. It’s something we’re continually working on.”
The Kumuls will take on USA this Sunday in their last home match at the Oil Search National Football Stadium.
Coach Michael Marum added: “There’s a lot of work to be done. We look forward to training and fixing these things.”