JOHN Kear is aiming to steer Wales to a World Cup place tomorrow - and put one over three of his Bulls players.

After guiding Bradford back into the Betfred Championship after a tense play-off final win over Workington Town, his Wales side now face a must-win European Championship game at home to Ireland.

With the top two guaranteed to qualify for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, France - who play Scotland today - have already bagged their spot having won their opening two games.

Wales and Ireland have picked up a win apiece against rock-bottom Scotland, making tomorrow's clash at Wrexham's Racecourse Stadium a final-day decider for who gets the second spot.

Kear said: "It's a huge game for whoever wins because obviously there's a place in the World Cup riding on it, so we have to give a good account of ourselves.

"We lost to Ireland at the previous World Cup but then we also beat them on our way to winning the last European Championship in 2015.

"It's two different teams now to the ones last year and three years ago, so it's a completely fresh start for us both."

The Bulls head coach has winger Dalton Grant in his Welsh ranks, but will come up against an Ireland squad featuring Ethan Ryan, Greg McNally and Joe Keyes, who have all flourished under Kear at club level for Bulls this year.

Asked whether knowing the trio so well plays into his hands, Kear laughed: "It works both ways. You could say they have an advantage because they know how I think.

"There's quite a few lads in the Ireland squad beyond those three that I've worked with extensively anyway.

"It won't come down to me knowing them, or them knowing me, it will be about those lads giving their all for Wales or Ireland."

He admitted that managing an international rugby side does have its challenges, saying: "You don't have as much time to get into the detail about organisation, structure and game plans.

"You've really just got to keep it simple and it's about teaching the players to just adhere to certain basic principles."