Having been beaten by eventual champions New Zealand 40-5 in the Cup quarter-finals, Gareth Baber’s squad went on to beat Scotland 24-12 in the Plate semi-finals before losing out to the Spingboks, who had beaten Fiji on their way to meeting Wales.
Young Dragons James Lewis and James Harris scored the Welsh tries in the final and Lewis was joined at half time by his twin brother Rob in the line-up.
WRU Audio: Edwards reflects on defeat to South Africa in the plate final
It was another good day of development for Baber’s squad, who now head to San Diego for the next round of games. There they will be in the same Pool as New Zealand, Scotland and France.
“It was good to get some important ranking points and it was another good development stage for our youngsters,” said newly appointed Head Coach Baber.
“The All Blacks played a higher intensity game than we had experienced and were too strong for us. But it is games like that that will enable the players to grow.
“Our aim was to reach the Cup quarter-final in both Wellington and San Diego. We are looking to get as many points as possible to give us a favourable draw in Hong Kong and Adelaide.”
Scarlets back row man Johnathan Edwards and new Neath signing Dave Evans both picked up injuries and are doubtful for the San Diego tournament.
Neath skipper Lee Beach and fellow club mate James Merriman will be joining up with the squad in California, as will Dragons three quarter Gareth Chapman. Edwards is suffering from a groin strain, while Evans fractured his collar bone.
