The Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw, Pontypool, and Newport HSOB midfield ace crashed over for Wales’ second try to haul the French lead back to three points midway through the second half, but a third try from the visitors eventually saw them home.
But the 17-year-old Owen wasn’t worrying about what might have been after the game, he was immediately focussing on getting ready to face the Irish Schools U18 side at Cardiff Arms Park on Wednesday.
“France came out firing and they were physically very good in the contact area. It was a great game to be a part of and we were just unlucky with the result in the end,” said Owen.
“When we went in at half-time we really needed to look at what was going wrong because France were playing really well. We went over with the coaches what we needed to do and we executed that pretty well kin the second half.
“We had a lot more possession on the ball and it was nice for me to get a score. In the end, though, it wasn’t enough, but the effort from all the boys was top notch.
“We played with greater tempo in the second half and were much quicker. For large parts of the first half we were defending and that took a lot out of us.
“We kept hold of the ball in the second half, played in the right areas and the tries started coming. We have been together for a couple of weeks now and we have been learning off each other.
“Now we will review the first game, examine our strengths and weaknesses, but we know we will have to put in a bigger performance to get a result against Ireland. This is international rugby, the best of the best at our age level.
“We know we have to come out in every game with a physicality, tempo and work rate that has to be maintained for every minute of every game. If you can’t do that you are going to get punished.”
As well as studying the tapes and statistics of their game against France, and the last-gasp, 20-17 win by the Irish over Italy U18, Owen will also be putting in a few hours of revision ahead of his A-Levels this summer.
Balancing rugby and education is vital for all the boys in the Wales squad and Owen is facing five big exams in May in Maths, PE and History
“We’ve built in a bit of time for revision this week, but the main focus for us all now is the Irish game on Wednesday. It is great to be a part of this Six Nations tournament because it doesn’t happen often,” added Owen.
“The whole week is a learning curve to try to improve us as players and help us to make the next step in our careers.”
The Wales side also included Dragons scrum half Dafydd Buckland (Newport HS / Rhymney) and four members of the pack - Will Griffiths (Coleg Gwent / Cross Keys), Luke Yendle (Newport HS / Senghenydd), Ben Carter (Newport HS / Caldicot) and Rob Brookson (Coleg Gwent / Pontypool United).
U18 Six Nations Festival
Round 2: Wednesday, 4 April - Cardiff Arms Park
12noon: Italy v England
2.30pm: Ireland v Wales
5.00pm: France v Scotland
Round 3: Sunday, 8 April - Cardiff Arms Park
12noon: Ireland v Scotland
2.30pm: Italy v Wales
5.00pm: France v England
