The young side kicked off their World Rugby U20 Championship with an agonising 24-17 defeat at the death in Tbilisi.
They trailed 10-7 at half-time, despite Cameron Lewis’ early try, but with the wind at their backs they dominated the majority of the second period.
Dane Blacker finished a fine move off the back of a scrum to reclaim the lead but the advantage was instantly surrendered when Harry Johnson-Holmes barged over.
And it was a case of déjà vu as Super Rugby star Izaia Perese snatched the match-winner moments after Arwel Robson levelled the scores with a drop-goal going into the final minute.
Hodges said: “I thought for 35 minutes we were excellent but we struggled a bit in the last five minutes of the second-half and half-time came at the right time for us after Will Talbot-Davies’ last-ditch tackle on Henry Hutchison kept us in the game.
“We had our opportunities in terms of territory in the second-half, we were camped in their 22 but we lost the collisions in the contact area and we’re obviously disappointed that they managed to get that kick-off back at the end and were able to score out wide.
“Their backline from 9-15 hadn’t played in the Oceania tournament because they had all been busy playing either Super Rugby or Sevens.
“We managed their centre pairing (Sione Tuipulotu and Izaia Perese)) very well until that very last play of the game when 13 has got himself through.
“He’s a class act to be fair, as is Simon Kennewell, Henry Hutchison and Liam McNamara. They are boys who have had more exposure, at a higher level of rugby than some of ours have.”
Jason Strange’s side continue their campaign against England U20s at the Avchala Stadium on Sunday (5.30pm BST) and must win to keep alive their hopes of a semi-final place.
And following results in other pools, most notably Italy U20s scalp of Ireland U20s, the play-offs for rankings five to eight remain wide open.
Hodges knows Wales’ young guns must quickly learn the lessons of their opening defeat but is adamant England hold no fear.
He added: “We’re hugely disappointed with the end result but we’re still in there with a fighting chance thanks to the fact that we came out with a point. Some of the other results in the other pools have been a little bit unpredictable, which means we’re still in the mix.
“The impressive thing about this group is how tight and together they are. That bond is much better than in the Six Nations because they have been together 24/7 under the same roof.
“They stuck in there, they’re a tight bunch and we’ll just rest and recover now and get ourselves ready for a huge game against England.
“A lot of our boys are young, we’ll have a lot of them back next year but as long as we learn a few lessons we go into what’s probably our World Cup final on Sunday against England.
“We lost to them in the Six Nations but we have beat them in the previous two encounters so we have nothing to fear there.
“We watched them against Samoa, which was a pretty straightforward victory and I think they’ll make wholesale changes ready for Sunday.
“These boys have come through the pathway and we have consistently beat them at U16s and U18s, some boys at U20s. We know they are a very strong side and one of the favorites for the competition but we also know nothing less than a win will see us continue in this tournament and aim for the top four.”
Wales U20s v England U20s at the Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia is live on S4C on Sunday, June 4, kick-off 5.30pm (BST).
Hodges: Wales still have fighting chance
Defence coach Richard Hodges admits Wales U20s opening defeat to Australia was bitterly disappointing but he insists they have no option but to bounce back against England on Sunday.
