The young Dragons’ trip to the southern hemisphere culminates with a game against a France side on Saturday at The University of the Western Cape in Bellville. (KO 11am).
And although they are without a win so far on tour, Watts believes the developmental nature of the tour is the key aspect to take from the trip.
Taking on a South African Schools XV yesterday, Wales trailed 15-0 at half-time before another second-half comeback saw them narrow the gap to just five points. But two further South African penalties saw the opposition end up 24-16 winners.
“It was a fantastic Test match for all our boys,” said Watts. “Conceding 15 points just before half-time in what was basically a five minute period killed the game for us and they capitalised on some mistakes.
“But the rugby we played was excellent. We dominated the second-half territory wise and we were well rewarded with Ben Roberts’ try.”
Three tries in five minutes saw Wales fall behind with South African winger Natjikinyane Malopo scoring twice.
But when centre Roberts crossed in the 52nd minute and saw his try converted by Jack Maynard, Wales were right back in the game. The game then turned on a key decision. Welsh forward James Benjamin was given a yellow card for a technical infringement and despite another Maynard penalty, Wales were unable to get back into the game.
Despite the loss, Watts remained positive. “We are hoping for a positive result in the final game but we will maintain the way the boys are playing,” he said.
Wales team to play France: 15 Hallam Amos 14 Dafydd Howells 13 Stefan Hughes 12 Ben Roberts 11 Ashley Evans 10 Jack Maynard 9 Connor Lloyd; 1 Nicky Smith 2 Ethan Lewis 3 Nicky Thomas 4 Josh Helps 5 James Sheeky 6 Sion Bennett 7 James Benjamin 8 Ben Roach
Replacements: Tom Ball, Jack Dunning, Alex Jeffries, Lance Randell, Joe Tomlin-Reeves, Joel Raikes, Craig Woodhall, Ryan Evans.
