Wales must respond - Hodges

Wales must respond - Hodges
Wales U20 defence coach Richard Hodges has called on the group to respond after they fell to France on the opening day of the U20 World Championship.

France outscored Wales three tries to one in their 19-10 victory on Day One of this year’s tournament in Italy, with centre Garyn Smith grabbing the only try for Wales.

England hammered Japan 52-7 in their first match later on, moving them to the top of the Pool A and putting the pressure on Wales to respond in order to stay in the competition.

While Hodges added there were some positives in the second half, overall he was disappointed with the side’s inaccuracies but pointed out that Wales’ win over England in the U20 Six Nations would give them a boost.

"It was a poor start, we didn't make France work hard for their tries with a kick charged down and losing our own scrum on our line. There was a lot of inaccuracy which was disappointing and it was the same in the second half.

"We beat [England] in the Six Nations so we know we are capable of getting a win and that is what we have to do if we have any chance of getting into the top four. We will be doing our homework on England, starting with their game against Japan. One thing is for sure, we can't afford to give points away as we did this evening."

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