Dragons RFC prop Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths acknowledges Wales Under-20s will be eager to right some wrongs when they face France Under-20s in the World Rugby Championship on Tuesday (kick-off 3.30pm UK).
Kelleher-Griffiths starts for a third successive game as Wales face the French in a crucial Pool A encounter with a semi-final berth up for grabs.
Wales go into the game after a narrow defeat to New Zealand – that saw them claim two losing bonus points – and a maximum point haul over Japan.
The French game at Athlone Stadium, though, comes with added spice.
The last time the two teams met was in the final weekend of the Six Nations earlier this year when France ran riot at the Stade Charles Mathon, Oyonnax to score 11 tries in a record defeat for Wales.
“There are a lot of boys playing who featured in that last France game and that gives us even more fire to show what we now bring to the table,” admitted Kelleher-Griffiths.
“After two games, to be where we are in the tournament, we would have taken that.
“The Six Nations wasn’t the best for us, wasn’t what we wanted. But we are a completely different team now and we are showing that.
“It is all to play for against France. We will review what we have done so far and will look to fly into them. We will take confidence into the game.”
Wales impressed at the weekend as they picked up a bonus point in their 41-19 win over Japan at a rain soaked Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch.
And it was a display that Kelleher-Griffiths believed showcased the direction the team is going in.
“I felt there were a lot of good things in that performance, and it showed our resilience to fightback,” he said.
“There are a lot of things we can do better, but the weather was a big factor in that. There were a lot of dropped balls.
“We got back into the game, and we can take positives from that.
“Japan played well and were different to what we had seen when they played France. But we adapted in the second half, and we take the positives. Scoring six tries says a lot.
“There are a lot of the boys from the Six Nations, but a lot of us have changed mentally and physically,” he added.
“Mark (Jones) coming in has been amazing and the boys coming off the bench are also making as big an impact in games as the boys starting which is amazing to see.”
There are a lot of boys playing who featured in that last France game and that gives us even more fire to show what we now bring to the table...
