Wales Women’s Under 20s put up a strong showing before a 14-minute blitz by England secured the home side a hard fought 17-7 victory at Surrey Sports Park.
After second row Amy Millar had put England ahead in the 16th minute with a try, Wales struck back through prop Alex Stokes and hit the lead with Yasmin Leung’s conversion.
Wales’s staunch defence kept England at bay until the 42nd minute when influential fly half Emily Scott took matters into her own hands and took control of proceedings.
She sliced over for a try which she duly converted to give England a 12-7 lead before finally subduing Wales with a second touchdown in the 56th minute.
In the curtain raiser, England Under 18s Talent Development Group swept aside the challenge of Wales U18s TDG by a flattering 30-7 margin.
The Welsh side put up a spirited display considering they went into the match with just two training sessions and a trial behind them.
The backline showed some real glimpses of class while full back Rachel Rees, who scored Wales’s try, gave an eye catching performance.
* The Welsh Universities Sevens side had mixed success in Edinburgh for the British Univeristy Games.
The side, which featured Welsh U20s Charlotte Murray and Amy Lawrence along with Wales hooker Beck Newton, went down to England 24-0 and lost to Scotland by the same margin before prevailing 24-0 over Northern Ireland.
Welsh 7s squad: Becky Newton, Charlotte Murray, Amy Lawrence, Emma Thomas, Laura Haley, Sara Williams, Abby Nascimento, Sam Lumb, Siwan Lillicrap, Caryl Hughes, Ceri Bowen.
