Dragons RFC wing Oli Andrew insists Wales Under-20s will target victories on the road to finish this year’s U20 Six Nations campaign – after his spectacular try brace in vain against England.
Andrew impressively dived over the whitewash twice at Stadiwm CSM on Friday night.
But it was England who secured a 37-21 win in the third-round of the tournament to leave Wales still looking to register a first victory.
Andrew – who was joined by club team-mates Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, Sam Scarfe, Harri Ackerman and captain Ryan Woodman in the starting line-up – believes Wales showed plenty of promise once again.
And as they prepare to jet to Italy in the fourth round on March 10, Andrew firmly believe Wales can still play with confidence and belief.
“You can’t fault the effort, but we have come out the wrong side of the result,” he said.
“I was fortunate to finish off two tries, worked well by the boys, but our own mistakes have hurt us.
“We were in the game in the first half, but in the second we let it slip away in the last 20 minutes or so.
“It was a tough opening half hour, but we still felt that we were still in the game. It was only two scores, and we never gave up.”
England had wrapped up a try bonus inside 30 minutes in the third-round fixture, but Wales hit back to cut the lead to 25-21 on the hour.
“We showed our character,” said Andrew. “We never give up and we are always in the fight.
“We haven’t come away with the result, but we were in the game. There were competitive periods when we were in there.
“In all three games we’ve had good periods. It’s important we focus on those and see if we can replicate them throughout the whole game and not just in spells.
“There are also areas like the penalty count, in this game and the last, which is on us to improve. We need to eradicate those errors.
“My tries were well worked by the other boys,” he added. “A bit of magic from Dan Edwards for the first and then great speed from Archie Hughes for the second.”
Stadio Monigo will host the fourth-round clash between Wales Under-20s and Italy in less than two weeks before Byron Hayward’s men finish in Oyonnax against France.
“It’s a great experience for the boys playing away and we have two big games to go,” added Andrew.
“I can’t see why we can’t come away with victories in the last two games. That is the target.”
In all three games we’ve had good periods... It’s important we focus on those and see if we can replicate them throughout the whole game and not just in spells...
