Wales Under 20 will play Fiji in Padova on Wednesday (6.00pm local time) in the first of the Junior World Championship fifth place semi-finals.
The Welsh youngsters beat tournament hosts Italy 56-6 in their final Pool match on Saturday, scoring eight tries on the way. The other semi-final is between South Africa and Ireland, with the final play-off games taking place next Sunday.
While the Welsh coaching team is relatively pleased with the improvement in performance and result following the record defeat to New Zealand on Tuesday, they are conscious of the need to cut out errors if they are to improve on their standing from the past two Junior World Championships when they finished sixth and seventh.
Wales coach Rob Appleyard said: “We needed to produce a performance to feel proud of against Italy following the loss to New Zealand. The Kiwis proved that it is an achievable aim to play rugby at that kind of intensity and that is the biggest lesson for us that we want to take into our remaining games.
“We did that in part against Italy, scoring eight tries and showing glimpses of some open, expansive rugby and we put a lot of energy and effort into the game.
“But we also made mistakes in attack and defence and let slip a number of scoring opportunities. However, you only make progress by playing at this level against other international sides and we are lucky to have the chance to play two more intense games in this competition.
“It’s a good platform to build on and we are confident we can continue to improve as a team throughout the remainder of this tournament.”
Appleyard added that it is now key for the players to recover and prepare to play Fiji on Wednesday.
“This competition is an excellent learning curve for the players. Despite a tough game last night, they now need to rest and recover and then get stuck into preparation for Wednesday. Fiji will be tough, but following the disappointed of the New Zealand game, the players are all determined to be successful in this tournament and if we do well, fifth place is up for grabs.”
The Welsh youngsters beat tournament hosts Italy 56-6 in their final Pool match on Saturday, scoring eight tries on the way. The other semi-final is between South Africa and Ireland, with the final play-off games taking place next Sunday.
While the Welsh coaching team is relatively pleased with the improvement in performance and result following the record defeat to New Zealand on Tuesday, they are conscious of the need to cut out errors if they are to improve on their standing from the past two Junior World Championships when they finished sixth and seventh.
Wales coach Rob Appleyard said: “We needed to produce a performance to feel proud of against Italy following the loss to New Zealand. The Kiwis proved that it is an achievable aim to play rugby at that kind of intensity and that is the biggest lesson for us that we want to take into our remaining games.
“We did that in part against Italy, scoring eight tries and showing glimpses of some open, expansive rugby and we put a lot of energy and effort into the game.
“But we also made mistakes in attack and defence and let slip a number of scoring opportunities. However, you only make progress by playing at this level against other international sides and we are lucky to have the chance to play two more intense games in this competition.
“It’s a good platform to build on and we are confident we can continue to improve as a team throughout the remainder of this tournament.”
Appleyard added that it is now key for the players to recover and prepare to play Fiji on Wednesday.
“This competition is an excellent learning curve for the players. Despite a tough game last night, they now need to rest and recover and then get stuck into preparation for Wednesday. Fiji will be tough, but following the disappointed of the New Zealand game, the players are all determined to be successful in this tournament and if we do well, fifth place is up for grabs.”
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