Wales youngsters thrashed by France after making promising start
Wales U20s conceded nine tries as they were thrashed 63-19 by Frances U20s in Vannes.
Richard Whiffin's side impressed in the first half, particularly up-front, and only trailed 21-12 at the break but got blown away in the second 40.
This has been a chastening weekend for Welsh rugby, with both the seniors and the U20s losing by a combined total of 106-19 to their French opponents.
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In front of a 12,000 crowd at the Stade de la Rabine, France started the strongest when hooker Lyam Akrab powered over from short range. But Wales hit back with an excellent try of their own after a period of sustained pressure.
Wales bombarded the French line and a stunning pass from Steffan Emanuel put wing Aidan Boshoff over at the far left-hand corner. France responded with a try from Ugo Pacome who hit an excellent angle to score.
Soon after it looked like they had scored a fourth try after Scott Delnevo misjudged the bounce for Xan Mousques to touch down. But the try was chalked off after the TMO spotted Antoine Deliance making direct contact with the head of Wales tighthead Sam Scott and was subsequently sent to the sin bin.
Wales took immediate advantage when Harry Thomas touched down off the back of a well-worked driving lineout but the try was disallowed for obstruction. However, Wales bounced back immediately with Thomas again scoring off the back of an impressive maul.
Wales were soon reduced to 14 players when captain Harry Bedall got shown a yellow card for a cynically killing the ball in the France 22. The hosts made Wales pay for their ill-discipline when Akrab powered his way over the line from short range on the stroke of half-time.
Wales had impressed for large periods of the first half but after the break it was all one-way traffic. Left wing Mousques extended the home side's lead with a try at the corner before a show-and-go from Jurd put Fabien Brau-Boirie over.
To their credit Wales refused to throw in the towel and Scarlets hooker Thomas claimed his second after a quick tapped penalty caught France napping. But any hopes of a comeback were soon crushed when Robin Taccola plucked a well-weighted cross-kick out of the air to score.
Replacement scrum-half Nathan Llaveria was next to score before Edouard-Junior Jabea Njocke rubbed further salt into Welsh wounds with the final try.
