GIANT new Wales lock Brent Cockbain is ready for anything the Cana-dians will throw at him on Sunday - and he'll give it back if necessary.

Cockbain is set to be brought into the Welsh pack to give it some edge in what is widely expected to be a physical encounter.

He has made just one start for Wales, in the August friendly against Romania at Wrexham, and is now likely to be handed his World Cup debut.

"We've spoken about the size of the Canadian pack," admitted Cockbain, standing at 6ft 7in and weighing 18st 4lb.

"They will get away with as much as they can, but every game is an arm wrestle early on and Canada will be no different.

"If weight needs to be thrown about I'll do it. If there's a scuffle there is usually a reason for it, but if you concentrate on that you lose the game plan."

Cockbain was a shock choice for the World Cup, his inclusion in the Wales squad provoking an outburst from Newport's Ian Gough in particular, especially with Cockbain's Australian background, qualifying for Wales only this year by residency.

But he dismisses that, saying that: "I believe in my ability, I haven't had any negative feedback and the Wales management have been very supportive of me.

"I want to be true to them and I want to go out and give my all.

"There are three other sides in our pool and all the games are going to be close. You can't take anyone for granted.

"We must get the first game right, if we think about the others we are going to come a cropper. New Zealand are a fantastic team, but South Africa exposed them quite a bit in one Tri-Nations game.

"But if we worry about New Zealand (Wales' last pool match) we'll make mistakes early on."

Cockbain has attracted a lot of publicity in Australia because of his background, plus the fact that older brother Matt is a World Cup winner with Australia and a member of their squad.

"With my Australian heritage and playing for Wales now there has been a bit more focus and attention," he admitted.

"We were very competitive as youngsters, but I haven't caught up with my brother this time as he is based in another part.

"My parents are supportive of both of us and are ecstatic we are both playing international rugby."