WALES Under-20s will have to repeat their Six Nations victory over England if they are to make the semi-finals of the Junior World Championship after suffering a loss to France in their tournament opener.

The Welsh young guns were beaten 19-10 by Les Bleuets in Calvisano to leave them with no margin for error against the English, who are chasing a hat-trick of titles, on Saturday evening.

It was always going to be a big ask against a powerful French side that triumphed 27-5 when the sides met in the Six Nations but Wales made far too many handling errors and a sloppy start meant they couldn’t make the most of their superior fitness in the closing stages.

They lacked snap in attack – how they could have done with Newport Gwent Dragons centre Tyler Morgan, who was withdrawn for the senior World Cup squad – and will need to be much sharper in the two remaining Pool A fixtures against the English and Japan.

France made an ominous start and kicked penalties to the corner from the off – a decision that ultimately paid off when Toulouse wing Arthur Bonneval crossed down the right in the seventh minute for a 5-0 lead.

And the French extended their lead to 12-0 with just 12 minutes on the clock when, after a scrum against the head, full-back Thomas Ramos, another on Toulouse’s books, dotted down in the same corner and then expertly converted.

Wales, perhaps a tad over-excited, were making handling errors galore despite the glorious conditions in Italy and twice knocked on with the line at their mercy through Scarlets hooker Ryan Elias and Ospreys full-back Dafydd Howells, having instead to settle for a penalty by Scarlets fly-half Dan Jones on the half hour.

They had a lucky escape when Toulon scrum-half Anthony Meric had a try chalked off for an off-the-ball hold when he danced through some powerpuff and then it took some desperate defence to escape after a stunning 50-metre break by Massy blindside Sekou Macalou.

Wales were fortunate to still be in touch at 12-3 at the break after a first 40 minutes of mistakes and sloppy defence.

And they were even more fortunate to still be in touch early in the second half after a pair of misses from the tee by Ramos as Les Bleuets also started to rack up the errors.

However, the crucial blow came in the 57th-minute with a cracking French try, albeit one that started from yet another Welsh error when Elias spilt the ball inside the 22 after a patient attack.

The men in blue went the length of the pitch with Clermont centre Damian Penaud, son of former France fly-half Alain, setting up Bordeaux-Begles speedster Lucas Blanc for a score that Ramos converted for 19-3.

But Wales – who looked the fitter side in the hot conditions – had a sniff when Cardiff Blues centre Garyn Smith responded swiftly, barging over from close range for a try that regional teammate Jarrod Evans converted.

And it took desperate French defence to hold Blues scrum-half Tom Williams – Principality Premiership young player of the year for his exploits with Pontypridd – up over the line when he sniped through inside the 22 in the 75th minute.

However, just as Wales were scenting a famous comeback, or at least a losing bonus point, yet another mistake from the resulting scrum saw them defending their own line at the other end with France instead pushing for their fourth try.

The game ended with a series of scrums on the Welsh line but, with a penalty try seemingly looming, Brive number eight Fabien Sanconnie opted to go for the line and was held up, leaving the French to settle for a four-point haul.

Wales: Dafydd Howells (Ospreys); Lloyd Lewis (Dragons), Owen Watkin (Ospreys), Garyn Smith (Blues), Joshua Adams (Scarlets), Dan Jones (Scarlets), Tom Williams (Blues); Luke Garrett (Dragons), Ryan Elias (Scarlets), Dillon Lewis (Blues), Adam Beard (Ospreys), Rory Thornton (Ospreys, captain), Tom Phillips (Scarlets), Ollie Griffiths (Dragons), Harrison Keddie (Dragons).

Replacements : Liam Belcher (Blues), Keagan Bale (Dragons), Leon Brown (Dragons), Seb Davies (Blues), Jon Fox (Ospreys), Kieran Hardy (Scarlets), Jarrod Evans (Blues), Barney Nightingale (Dragons)

Scorers: try – G Smith; conversions – J Evans; penalty – D Jones

France: T Ramos (Toulouse), A Bonneval (Toulouse), D Penaud (Clermont), E Roudil (La Rochelle), L Blanc (Bordeaux-Begles), L Meret (Bordeaux-Begles), A Meric (Toulon), T Estorge (Clermont), C Chat (Racing Metro), M Simutoga (Clermont), T Labouteley (Montpellier), J Delannoy (Montpellier), S Macalou (Massy), L Bachelier (Perpignan, captain), F Sanconnie (Brive).

Replacements: B Lespiaucq (Dax), C Castets (Montpellier), Q Bethune (Agen), M Tanguy (La Rochelle), M Ugena (Stade Francais), G Doubrère (Auch), A Belleau (Toulon), A Pilati (Bordeaux-Begles)

Scorers: tries – A Bonneval, T Ramos, L Blanc; conversions – T Ramos (2)

Referee: Matthew Carley (England)