Wales U20 surged to victory against Scotland U20 at the Wern with a dominant second half display to secure a 43-28 victory at Merthyr.
Richard Whiffin’s side gave a scratchy first half performance and found themselves trailing 21-12 at halftime.
But after a stern talking to at the break, Wales excelled in the second half to score four well taken tries while reducing the Scots to just one.
Wales didn’t actually take the lead until the 51st minute when hooker Tom Howe surged over from a tap penalty. From that point on, Wales poured through the Scottish defence and held the upper hand for the remainder of the match.
Wales scored twice in the first half through wingers Evan Morris and Rhys Cummings and a conversion from Carwyn Leggatt-Jones. The outside half then reduced the arrears early in the second half with a dazzling piece of individual flair to score a converted try to peg back the lead to just two points.
Howe’s try soon followed and Cummings scored his second from a text-book move from the training ground. Leggatt-Jones’ conversion put Wales 33-21 in front but the Scots hit back before Steff Jac Jones knocked over a penalty to put Wales two scores ahead.
Wales sealed the comeback when Evan Minto burrowed over under a pile of bodies.
Whiffin was delighted to see his side overcome a shakey first half to claim the spoils.
“We were disappointed at halftime, it was a very flat performance in the first half, it didn’t represent what we are truly about. In old fashioned terms, they got a bit of a rocket at halftime,” he said.
“We saw a much more energised and connected team in the second half. I thought to be fair in the second half the bench gave real impact and really drove us home.
“Scotland challenged us, I thought their ball movement was really good, they got into the wide channels a lot and were a handful so it certainly shows that game in the Six Nations is going to be a tough one but one we look forward to.”
Wales scorers:
Tries: Evan Morris, Rhys Cummings (2), Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, Tom Howe, Evan Minto; Cons: Leggatt-Jones (4), Steff Jac JonesPen: Steff Jac Jones
Scotland scorers:
Tries: Rory Purvis, Henry Widdowson, Joe Roberts, Oliver Finlayson-Russell; Cons: Hamish MacArthur (3), Calum Jessop