France produced an accomplished away performance to get past Wales 47-15 in the Six Nations Under-20s.
Some wonderful attacking play led to two tries from Connor Sa, which combined with Romain Fonnicola’s opener and a trio of late scores, gave Jean-Marc Bederede’s team the win needed to send them to the top of the table.
Ahead of Ireland’s trip to England, the French put themselves in the perfect position to take advantage of any slip-up, once again collecting a bonus point on the way to their third victory of the Championship so far.
But the hosts can take comfort from a resilient performance that kept them in the game for long periods against strong opposition.
FRANCE SHOW THEIR ATTACKING POWER
Wales came into round 4 closer to Scotland at the foot of the table, than France in terms of points.
But it was the hosts who came out the blocks firing and getting the first points on the scoreboard through a perfect Jac Lloyd penalty five minutes in.
However, France responded in impressive fashion by capitalising on a handling error, with right wing Fonnicola going over in the corner for the opening try.
The lead was extended through a wonderful penalty from Leo Barre, taking full advantage of the calm conditions in Old Colwyn.
Les Blues continued to threaten with constant line-breaks, and only some superb cover work from Lloyd ensured the hosts didn’t drop further behind.
But the pressure from the visitors was relentless and they had their second try following a lengthy TMO review, hooker Connor Sa claiming the score after heavy forward pressure.
WALES FIGHTBACK BEFORE HALF-TIME
After weathering the storm, the home fans had something to cheer about when referee Shota Tevadze awarded a penalty try, following a driving maul that was illegally collapsed, with Thomas Moukoro sent to the sin bin as a result.
Wales refused to go away and they made the most of the temporary numerical advantage when Benji Williams’ bustling run was rewarded, holding off the tackles before grounding the ball with one hand.
That put Byron Hayward’s team right back in the match, with a further wobble for the French coming when Samuel M’Foudi was also shown a yellow for a clash with Bryn Bradley in the air.
Yet the visitors responded like true title contenders after the break, Barre adding another penalty before Connor Sa got his second score of the game after breaking off a lineout maul, with France’s full-back adding the conversion.
Wales continued to scrap for every ball and very nearly got themselves back in the contest for a second time just after the hour mark.
Debutant Morgan Morse, who played in place of suspended captain Alex Mann, grounded the ball only for the try to be disallowed for a Ryan Woodman knock-on in the build-up.
Enzo Reybier later sealed the win by reading a long pass from Joe Hawkins and running through to dive under the posts and secure his team the bonus point they craved.
There was still time for replacement Simon Tarel to dive over in the corner, before a sensational try from Max Auriac completed the scoring for the visitors, who keep alive their Championship hopes.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Leo Barre was named as the Player of the Match after some powerful running rugby was combined with a near perfect record from the tee.
Barre only missed his final two conversions, but had already kicked 17 crucial points.
