It was a case of mission accomplished for Wales U20 who claimed a maximum haul of points against Spain U20 on match day 2 of the U20 World Championship at Athlone Stadium.
Having scored three tries in the first half through Kodie Stone, Elijah Evans and Ioan Emanuel, Wales secured a bonus point try through Ieuan Davies in the second spell to eventually come away with a hard fought 31-10 triumph in Cape Town.
The Spanish proved difficult to break down and their defence at times was heroic as they denied the young men in red further touch downs.
Second row Pablo Guirao stormed over for a well taken try five minutes from the break to bring his side within a score of Wales but prop Ioan Emanuel, on debut, was driven over in a well-orchestrated drive to Ryan Woodman’s side a comfortable 24-10 lead at the break.
Wales squandered a couple of chances in the opening exchanges of the second half with Harry Rees-Weldon being denied by the TMO while Stone had a second try chalked off by the referee for a forward pass from full back Matty Young.
Wale kept hammering away and finally cracked the Spanish defence with the brilliant break from Harri Ford resulting in halfback partner Ieuan Davies finishing off under the cross bar.
The Wales fly half took the ball to the line, and scampered through a gap, and sped towards the 22m line. He broke a couple of more tackles before off-loading to Davies who finished the job off. With Steffan Emanuel’s conversion, Wales had a clear buffer and were able to keep their own line intact to ensure they remain in the hunt for a top four position.
They now have seven points from their two games and know their destiny is in their own hands when they face defending champions France in the final game of the pool.
“It’s been a tough week, we’ve had a lurgy in the camp all week so we didn’t train much and thought the boys showed really good composure,” said head coach Richard Whiffin.
“It was always going to be a scrappy game and the boys were running on fumes energy-wise so it was job done ultimately, now we move on to France.
“Spain were certainly up for the battle and we have some bruised and battered bodies in the changing room, they were a credit to their nation and they gave a good game.
“We now move on to Tuesday where we take on France in what will be a big opportunity for us to get through the pool.”
