Wales are back on track at the World Rugby U20 Championship after they picked up a bonus point in their 41-19 win over Japan at a rain-soaked Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch.
The conditions turned the ball into a bar of soap and there were numerous handling errors on both sides. Wales now face unbeaten France, who beat New Zealand 30-12, in their final pool game next week.
Having established a 10-point lead in the opening quarter – Dan Edwards kicked a penalty from in front of the posts and then scrum half Archie Hughes supported a Bryn Bradley break to notch the first try of the game – Wales then lost lock Evan Hill to a yellow card for a high tackle and suddenly found themselves in trouble.
The Japanese struck immediately with a try from an immaculate driving line-out and then added another, once again from hooker Kouta Nagashima, no sooner had Hill returned to the field. Both were converted by Kanjiro Naramoto and all of a sudden, the Japanese were ahead.
More than that, with their tails up they extended the lead with a try from a pin-point cross kick that enabled wing Renji Oike to finish smartly in the right corner.
With only three minutes left in the first half they led 19-10 and were good value for their nine-point advantage. Their line-out had worked well and their scrum was getting on top.
But Ryan Woodman’s side is nothing if not full of character and fight, and from a shortened line-out in the Japanese 22, hooker Lewis Lloyd peeled around the front to the blindside, barged off one tackler and ran 15 metres to the line for a brilliant solo effort.
That meant it was only a four-point game at the break, with the Japanese leading 19-15. The next score was always going to be crucial, and it took 25 minutes before it came.
Before the next score arrived the Japanese skipper and centre Yoshiki Omachi picked up a yellow card for a moment of madness at a ruck on the Wales 22. He wasn’t involved but decided to drive into the neck of Hill as he lay prone on the floor.
It left the Wales lock needing treatment and five minutes after he left the field he had his card upgraded to red by the review officials. That gave Wales a numerical advantage for 32 minutes.
They made the most of it as they played territory, preyed on mistakes and eventually ran in three tries in the closing five minutes to ensure they not only won the game, but also picked up a precious bonus point
Prior to that final flourish it was a try by replacement wing Tom Florence in the 65th minute that edged Wales back in front. As the pressure mounted on them so the Japanese wilted and a forward pass five metres out from their line gifted Wales a scrum.
No 8 Morgan Morse picked up and sent Hughes scampering to the blindside and his long pass to Florence enabled him to cut inside and reach the line for a try that made it 20-19 to Wales. Another handing error gifted Wales another scrum deep in the Japanese 22, but this time they were shunted off the ball and lost a golden opportunity to extend their lead.
But there was no stopping Woodman’s men in the closing stages. Edwards went over at the posts for his second try of the tournament after a driving line-out had been held up on the line and added the extras.
Then Morse went on the rampage to pave the way for back-to-back tries for centres Bradley and Louie Hennessey. Edwards improved the first, Harri Wilde the second and Wales ended handsome winners on the scoreboard at least by the end of a tricky contest.
