Scotland also lost their other loose-head prop Michael Scarth and had to shift Zac Burgess across to the other side of the front-row for the rest of the match.
Individually, Scotland posted some excellent performances, notably from skipper and stand-off Angus Robson, who, save for a flat pass that gave Wales their final try, showed good game-management, clever passing skills and ability to break defences. But it was Ben McDonald who really worried the Wales’ defence with his powerful and swift running, fittingly rewarded with one of the Scots’ three tries.
Among the forwards, Rowan Walsh, was prominent in both attack and defence, only to have his game cut short by a second half injury. Fellow back-row Rory Baxter, who has been out for 12 months, was another of the Scots to catch the eye with his all-round game.
Scotland U18 head coach Ross Miller spoke positively after the game about lessons learned, saying: “We had opportunities to win the scoreline, but the positive thing is we’ve created those opportunities and we just didn’t gas them in terms of finishing them off with a score.
“The priority here is to expose the guys to international level, and then pull the best players through to the next stage. All the boys will gain a lot of feedback from this, which is their first proper game at this level”.
While disappointed with the scoreline, Miller acknowledged that Scotland were up against good opponents: “When Wales attacked, they did look slick. They are a good team. They’ve got a physical set of forwards and they’ve got backs who can play. We created opportunities in the first half, created space, and then probably just didn’t connect, didn’t connect with our passing. We want to encourage the boys to play an attacking game and not to shy away from trying things, but mistakes will happen at this level.”
Scotland started the game briskly but the lengthy break for the attention to Geary seemed to put them off their stride. Wales, by contrast, came out of the blocks rapidly after the injury intermission, showing top-drawer handling and running skills. It proved lethal when Scotland lost a line-out, allowing Wales to shift the ball along the back-line and create an overlap for right wing Ryley Fussell to touch down in the corner for the opening try.
Scotland, however, were able to reply with a classy score made my accurate passing from Robson and centre Finlay Anderson that gave full-back Alex Sneddon room to show his finishing skills with an unconverted try to level the scores.
Wales wasted no time in answering in kind, wing Dylan Quin running in a try made by the pace of full-back Sam Morgan and converted byFord. For a 12-5 lead.
Then, when Morgan became Wales’ third try scorer after a stunning build-up the men in red had opened up a 17-5 lead.
Scotland then suffered a second loss to injury when Sneddon left the field to be replaced by Murray Waugh who had five minutes left in the first half to accustom himself to the pace of the game.
Wales, after building up a 17-5 advantage in the first half, extended their lead at the beginning of the second period of play following a defensive muddle that handed Quinn a simple and second score, this time successfully converted by Ford.
Fortunately for the Scotland cause, there was an instant response triggered by a classic break from Robson and finished several phases later by the Morrison’s Academy back-row Walsh scoring from close range.
Wales sensing a Scotland revival then went for goal when they were awarded a penalty to put themselves 27-10 ahead after a good strike by Ford. But again Scotland hit back this time with a solo effort fromMcDonald, the Strathallan and Currie winger coming across from the right wing to score on the opposite flank.
Scotland, dominating territory and possession, had several chances to add to their try tally, only to be thwarted by errors in the red zone and it has to be said accurate defence by Wales.
Then, five minutes from full-time, Scotland committed another mistake that gave Morgan an easy interception for Wales’ fifth try, converted by Ford for the final points of the game
Teams –
Scotland U18s: A Sneddon; B McDonald, C Robbie, F Anderson, R Hill; A Robson, C Pettet; W Geary, J Nesbitt, Z Burgess, J Dalrymple, D Shellard, R Baxter, A Abel, R Walsh. Replacements used: J Roberts, M Scarth, A Smellie, O Richardson, B Bohmer, O McKenzie, M Waugh, R Law, L Glackin, S Lawaci
Wales U18s: S Morgan; R Fussell, W Adams, O Lewis, D Quin; W Ford, A Luger; B Kamanga, T Hall, I Jones, W Carroll, H Lewis, R Owen, A Prygodzicz, M Tuliakiono. Replacements used: C Lacey, O Tucker, L Goodluck, H Hughes, E Cox, O Lewis, H Bryant, J Williams
Scorers –
Scotland: Tries Sneddon, McDonald, Walsh
Wales: Tries Quin 2, Morgan 2, Fussell; Cons: Ford 3; Pen: Ford.
Scoring Sequence (Scotland first): 0-5; 5-5; 5-10; 5-12; 5-17 (h-t) 5-22; 5-24; 10-24; 10-27; 15-27; 15-32; 15-34.