Sion Bennett, Cory Allen and Rhodri Williams were all on the mark as Wales went in at the interval boasting a 21-6 lead. Two yellow cards in the second half meant it was a difficult second 40 minutes.
Still, they held on well and go into the game in Italy with a 100 per cent record behind them.
Wales made the perfect start, courtesy of a moment of madness from their hosts. A miscued chip from French outside half Enzo Selponi landed in the grateful arms of Elliot Dee and the hooker had the presence of mind to release flanker Bennett for a try that Sam Davies duly converted.
Just as their senior colleagues had 24 hours previous, Wales showed terrific resilience when France had the ball. They were combative at the set piece and commanding at the breakdown where Daniel Thomas and Ellis Jenkins were head and shoulders the two most effective players.
Scrum half Baptiste Serin’s penalty reduced the arrears after 22 minutes but Wales were more than a match for their hosts and extended their lead to nine points when Davies picked out Allen with a long pass and the Cardiff Blues centre stepped inside to touch down. Six minutes before the interval, Wales were even further clear thanks to an opportunist try from livewire scrum half Williams.
France were once again foiled in midfield and when the ball broke free, Allen fed Ashley Evans, who in turn, made 40 yards before looping a pass inside to Williams. The Scarlets’ half back had enough gas to reach the line for Davies to once again convert.
A second Serin penalty, three minutes before half time, gave France a lifeline and though the inside half missed an easy kick six minutes after the interval, Wales were soon down to 14 men when Nicky Smith was yellow carded for persistent infringement at scrum time.
With a numerical advantage in the pack, France clearly fancied their chances of redressing the balance. However, Wales continued to show a stubborn streak at the breakdown where France were continually denied quick ball.
However, when Wales were pushed off their own ball in the 51st minute, the French forwards set up base camp near the Wales line with Serin sending in left wing Maxime Wieprecht for a try that Serin converted from the touchline.
A Sam Davies drop goal after concerted work from his forwards, put Wales 24-13 to the good, but Wales were quickly back in trouble when Gareth Thomas was sent to the bin for a dangerous tackle on Wieprecht.
They held on heroically while Thomas was in the bin and even added to their tally thanks to a long range penalty from Davies, 10 minutes from time.
Team manager Mark Taylor said: “Just a great performance. We played with 14 men for 20 minutes and we showed great character.
“They are a young bunch of kids but they have grown from last week. It is a very intimidating atmosphere but they delivered. They need to take all the plaudits that are given them.
“France changed the entire front row which made them much more physical and we had a couple of minutes where we buckled, but we came back well.
“It’s massive. The boys are not used to playing in atmospheres like this. They were not daunted by it and I’m really proud with what they have achieved.
“We can’t afford to get ahead of ourselves, we just need to keep going with the game plan we’ve got.”
Scorers:
Wales: Tries: S Bennett, C Allen, R Williams; Cons: S Davies (3);Pens: S Davies; Dgl: S Davies
Yellow Cards: N Smith (46), Gareth Thomas (60)
France: Try: M Wieprecht (53), Con: B Serin; Pens: B Serin (2)
