Dragons RFC duo Carter Pritchard and Brogan Leary both grabbed tries as Wales got their Under-18 Six Nations Festival off to a winning start against Ireland with a thrilling 32-24 victory in Vichy.
Fionn Rowsome dotted down inside two minutes to give Ireland an early lead but Wales quickly turned it around thanks to tries from Thomas Howe and Kai Jones.
Howe first crossed the whitewash off the back of a powerful driving maul to level the tie before Jones showed Ireland a clean set of heels after intercepting an errant pass to dot down between the sticks.
Having comfortably slotted home both conversions, a pair of penalties from fly-half Carwyn Leggat-Jones either side of the break ensured Wales were seemingly in control.
Leading 17-7 at the break, Wales increased their lead through fly half Carwyn Leggatt-Jones’ boot before Ireland stuck back.
Hooker Lee Fitzpatrick caught the Welsh defence napping to power over in the 40th minute. Fly half Paul Neary added the extras to make it a one-score game.
Scrum half Connor McVicker then dabbed down after a bouncing ball caused confusion in the Welsh ranks to bring Ireland within a point.
In a game where both sides threw the ball about in all-out attack, Wales increased their lead when scrum half Carter Pritchard exploded from a ruck to dart over from 20m. Leggat-Jones added the extras to make it 27-19 after 48 minutes.
Frank Maher brought Ireland right back into the contest when he cantered clear from a breakdown to streak over from 40m but a yellow card to Bobby Colbert proved costly for Ireland in the dying stages.
Wales manipulated possession and territory expertly to put Leary over in the corner to seal the win and deny Ireland a losing bonus point.
Congratulations to all the players and our seven Dragons - captain Cerrig Smith, Carter Pritchard, Rhys Cole, Noah Morgan, Tiaan Hall, Tiehi Chatham and Brogan Leary.
