Those neutral supporters who stayed to watch the match, having already witnessed two terrific encounters in Canada v Italy and Scotland v England, weren’t disappointed – and despite the loss, neither were the Welsh coaches.
“To score 36 points with only 30 percent possession can be considered a real plus,” said coach Danny Milton after the match. “But we’ve got to learn to control the game a little bit better, especially when we were 31-17 up in the second half. As the momentum changed, Ireland got on top, and if we’re honest probably deserved the victory.”
A Welsh penalty kick to regain the lead in the final act of the game was by no means an easy one, and Milton didn’t want to dwell on any could-have-beens, saying: “Throughout the second-half period when Ireland were in the ascendancy, we didn’t control the game the way we would have liked and they made the most of that.”
Wales displayed some outstanding attacking rugby throughout this year’s series; something which has been the primary focus at this level. “It’s a great positive that we have some really exciting attacking talents,” Milton said. “To concede so many points was of course a disappointment, and we probably needed to dominate the collisions a bit more, but this is an opportunity for players to learn. That’s the purpose of the International Series and this age group pathway.
“We’ll give it a few days now to allow people the chance to digest what we’ve achieved over the course of the series, look at the footage and then bring everybody in for review.”
Wales U18 will then look forward to a tour of South Africa in the summer, one which many of this year’s U20 contingent found invaluable to their development.
