Wales agony as they are beaten by a single point

By SAM JACKSON

Wales………………26pts

Tries: Lewis 22, Edwards 26, Morse 38, Scarfe 79

Conversions: Edwards 26, 38, 79

New Zealand….27pts

Tries: Tangitau 7, Springer 46, Hainsworth-Fa’aofo 50, Clark 60

Conversions: Kemara 50, 61

Penalties: Godfrey 55

Wales suffered an agonising one-point defeat to New Zealand in their opening game of the U20s World Championship.

Mark Jones’ side stunned the four-time champions with three tries to lead 19-5 at half-time – before the Baby Blacks hit back with 22 unanswered points early in the second half.

Ospreys trio Lewis Lloyd, Dan Edwards and Morgan Morse all crossed for Wales, with replacement Sam Scarfe’s last-minute try at least ensured they took two bonus points from a thrilling match.

Head coach Mark Jones said: “The boys are gutted. Yes they took two bonus points but they put themselves in a position to win that game. We wanted them to be in a position to win the game in the final minutes, perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut. I’m so proud of their effort. Our lineout was a real weapon, we were dangerous with ball in hand and we finished the far stronger.”

Wales had arrived in South Africa on the back of a miserable Under-20s Six Nations that led to head coach Byron Hayward’s resignation. Yet here, they scored more points against the Baby Blacks in 18 minutes than they had ever managed in an entire game.

Wales ended the game the stronger, with New Zealand finishing with 14 players, and the late bonus points were the least they deserved.

Wales could have feared the worst when New Zealand wing Caleb Tangitau touched down with ease in the seventh minute. But Wales dominated the rest of the half with a mix of set-piece discipline from an allnew front-row and quick hands behind. Hooker Lloyd, making only his second international appearance, went close twice before he peeled off a lineout drive to score.

Moments later and another lineout drive was spun wide where Bryn Bradley combined with Edwards for the flyhalf to score. And when full-back Cameron Winnett was snagged just short, Morse was on-hand to grab Wales’ third try for a 19-5 lead at halftime.

In the second half, a series of penalties and a fresh intensity to their tackling saw Macca Springer and flankers Sam Hainsworth-Fa’aofo and Che Clark all score in the space of 14 minutes.

However despite trailing 27-19, Wales rallied late on. Edwards missed a simple penalty and Wales saw two tries ruled out by the video referee before Scarfe made sure with little more than a minute remaining.