Wales Under-18, including North Wales' Alex Schwarz, gain magnificent win in France
Wales Under 18 turned the tables on their French counterparts with a magnificent 15-6 win on French soil to finish third in the FIRA-AER Under 18 tournament.
The win signified a massive turnaround for Gruff Rees' youngsters after losing 34-17 last month to the same opponents in their first qualification game for the European championships hosted by the Armagnac-Bigorre region of south west France.
Wales lost 34-38 to England to a try in the last move of the game in the semi-finals the previous weekend. Having dominated for much of that match they were determined to finish their international season on a high.
Despite torrential rain and difficult conditions, Wales displayed guts and commitment up front up to match the physical French outfit and this time showed an ability to grind out a win.
French full back Quentin Pilet opened the scoring with a penalty after 18 minutes, but Wales hit back immediately with a 60 metre interception try by Cardiff High School Old Boys outside half Rhys Patchell.
The Blues pivot duly converted and 10 minutes later raced over for his second try to give Wales a 12-3 interval lead. Five minutes after the break Pilet added his second penalty to give the home side even more encouragement and set up an abrasive finish.
Wales' resources were put to the test in the final six minutes when skipper Ellis Jenkins and replacement No 8 Lewis Young were given yellow cards for their part in an altercation between the sides in the Welsh 22. That left Wales with only 13 men in the closing stages, but their resolve and defence held firm.
A drop goal from replacement outside half Sam Davies gave Wales some extra breathing space and they held on to notch a famous win on French soil. Meanwhile, Ireland beat England 17-8 to win the title.
"We are all delighted with the win. After losing so narrowly to England last week in a game we could and should have won, there was a determination to put that right today and to try to reverse the disappointing result of the France game in Swansea," said Wales Under 18 team manager Gethin Watts.
"Despite the wet conditions, and the partisan crowd, the boys showed today that they have come a long way since that day at the start of March, and although our attack wasn't up to our usual standards, the physicality and character of the team really came of age this evening, with the players and coaches deserve a lot of credit for that."
Scorers: France: Pens: Quentin Pilet 2; Wales: Tries: Rhys Patchell 2; Con: Rhys Patchell; DG: Sam Davies
Wales: Jordan Williams (Scarlets); Owen Jenkins (Blues), Ryan E Evans (Blues, Sam Davies Ospreys 42), Cory Allen (Blues), Jake Randall (Scarlets); Rhys Patchell (Blues), Rhodri Williams (Scarlets); Thomas Davies (Blues), Jack Dando (Blues), Daniel Suter (Ospreys, Bradley Thyer Blues 48), Jack Jones (Ospreys, Sion Bennett Scarlets 56), Rhodri Hughes (Ospreys), Ellis Jenkins (capt, Blues), Daniel Thomas (Scarlets), Ieuan Jones (Dragons, Lewis Young Blues, 26)
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