Allan Lewis’ side put in an impressive performance to bounce
back from their 18-17 reverse at the hands of Scotland first time out, and will
now play Georgia on Saturday (March 30, 12 noon kick-off) to decide their final
placing in the U18 Justin Bridou Championship Elite Division.
Captain and full back Dafydd Howells, who has represented
Neath in the Principality Premiership, led the way with a hat-trick of tries,
with Josh Adams, Dan Jones, Rhys Williams and Torin Myhill getting the other scores.
Jones also kicked four conversions for a personal match tally of 13 points, and
Luke Price added another.
Wales' defence coach Shaun Edwards had worked hard with the
group since the Scottish game, with a clean sheet just rewards for the players
and staff after the heartbreak of losing to the Scots by a single point after leading
12-2 at the halfway mark.
Coach Lewis said: “After reviewing the Scotland game we
concluded we didn’t need to change the way we played, but to execute that
approach better. We continued to challenge the opposition with ball in hand and
produced a quick tempo, which produced some very satisfying tries.
“The work Shaun Edwards has done defensively certainly bore
fruit in not conceding any tries and with an extremely high tackle completion
rate.”
Georgia will provide a different test for this young Welsh side
according to Lewis, based on their performances thus far in France.
“Georgia have made great strides in recent years,” added
Lewis. “They pushed Ireland very close in the first game and saw off Italy on
Tuesday (March 26). They will be a different proposition to Portugal.
“We need to continue to impose our style of play on the game,
which will hopefully create some try scoring opportunities.
“We are pleased with the level of exposure all the players
have had so far and the way they have all responded to that, which has given us
some selection headaches ahead of Saturday’s game.”
Wales currently stand fifth in the Elite Division rankings,
while Georgia are just behind them in sixth. England lead the way with France
second and Ireland in third.
Wales squad v Portugal: Dafydd
Howells (captain, Ospreys); Josh Adams (Scarlets), Garyn Smith (Blues), Tyler
Morgan (Dragons (Joe Thomas Ospreys 40)), Rhys Williams (Exiles); Daniel Jones
(Scarlets (Luke Price, Ospreys 41)), Tom
Williams (Blues (Daniel Brooks, Ospreys 41)); Keagan Bale (Dragons (Robert
Lewis, Blues 41)), Ryan Elias (Scarlets (Torin Myhill, Scarlets 41)), Dillon
Lewis (Blues (Alex Jeffries, Dragons 41)), Gareth Allen (Dragons (Adam Williams, Ospreys 55)), Rory Thornton
(Ospreys), Tom Phillips (Scarlets), Matthew Marley (Blues), Jonathon Fox
(Ospreys).
Scorers:
Tries: Dafydd
Howells (3), Josh Adams, Dan Jones, Rhys Williams, Torin Myhill.
Cons: Dan Jones
(4), Luke Price
Yellow card: Tom
Phillips (74)
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