UNDER 19’S NOW FACE JAPAN

Running in five second half tries to notch their first win in the tournament in Pietermaritzburg, Wales, hot on the heels of their opening day 25-8 defeat by reigning champions New Zealand, weathered a first-half storm from the plucky Scots before turning on the style to pick up an invaluable try bonus point.

It means that host nation South Africa head the standings in Division A after two rounds following their 32-7 victory over the Irish. Six Nations Grand Slammers England also have 10 points after they followed up their 32-11 opening day win over the Scots with another bonus point triumph over Japan, 43-9.

New Zealand and Australia both have nine points from two wins apiece and a single bonus point, while France, who lost to Australia in their opening game before beating Georgia 48-0, have six ahead of their final Pool match against South Africa.

Coach Ian Jones’s Welsh side now have five points from their two games and need to secure another bonus point victory against Japan to stand any chance of overtaking the French for the fourth and final semi-final slot.

In hot conditions in the KwaZulu-Natal capital of Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday the Welsh players took time to come to terms with both their opponents, who they had previously pipped in Edinburgh in the Six Nations Championships, and the heat. The Scots dominated much of the first-half action, yet couldn’t convert their chances into points.

That meant the Welsh side were thankful to head into the interval with an 8-0 lead thanks to a try by Darren Daniel and a penalty from Aaron Bramwell. The second half, though, was a different story. Wales piled on the pressure up front and spread the ball with confidence behind. The result were five more tries with livewire flankers Stuart Phillips and Ben Lewis barging over for two of them. Lock Will Jones also barged his way over and Spratt, who came on as a replacement wing, rounded off proceedings with two late tries. Bramwell added three conversions and the job was complete.

“Once we came to terms with the heat we could start playing,” said Welsh skipper Daniel George. “We came right when we played our natural running game.”

Scorers:
Scotland:
Tries: J Alston 2
Con: T Jericevitch

Wales:
Tries: J Spratt 2, D Daniel, S Phillips, B Lewis, W Jones
Cons: A Bramwell 3
Pen: A Bramwell