Scrum half Tavis Knoyle was the Swalec Man of the Match as he scored one and created another try during a good night’s work at the heels of a dominant Welsh pack.
Knoyle struck after only seven minutes to wipe out a second minute penalty from home centre Tommaso Benvenuti and set Wales on the victory trail. It was a typical close range snipe from the gritty scrum half as he turned a poor service from his scrum into a solo try.
His half-back partner Dai Langdon had no problem in adding the conversion and the Dragons Academy No 10 fired over three conversions and a penalty on the night.
“There was lots of good stuff in the game and we finally managed to finish off some of our scoring opportunities,” said a relieved Wales Under 20 coach Phil Davies.
“Full credit to the players, they have worked hard over the past three months and they deserved this victory. It has given us something to build on and now we can go to Parc y Scarlets next weekend and give the Irish a warm welcome.”
The Italians had three players sent to the sin-bin during the game and were reduced to 13 men at one stage. Wales also lost prop Aaron Coundley for 10 minutes after an altercation between the two front rows.
However, action replays showed the touch judge and referee pulled out the wrong man and it should have been the Welsh skipper Andrews who should have spent 10 minutes on the sidelines for throwing a punch.
A second Benvenuti penalty cut the gap to a single point before Wales were denied what looked like a leg try from No 8 Rory Pitman. The Scottish referee ruled there was a forward pass from James Loxton to Pitman and the try was disallowed.
It didn’t take long, though, for Wales to make amends and giant lock Ashley Sweet powered his way over soon after for the second try. Italy hit back with Benvenuti’s third penalty on the stroke of half-time, but Wales got off to a bright start in the second period.
With both teams down to 14 men, Wales moved the ball left and Scarlets Academy centre Scott Williams hit the line perfectly to take a long pass and waltz his way through the home defence.
That score three minutes into the second half looked to have set-up the visitors for a major try onslaught, but the game Italians responded brilliantly and three minutes later scored through right wing Giovannbatista Venditti.
That cut the gap to a single score once again, but a brace of tries in the final quarter from Nick Reynolds made the game safe for Wales and ensured they go into their final game against the buoyant Irish with their confidence boosted.
Scorers: Italy U20: Try: G Venditti; Pens: T Benvenuti 3. Wales U20: Tries: N Reynolds 2, T Knoyle, A Sweet, S Williams; Cons: D Langdon 3; Pen: D Langdon.
