Wales left heartbroken as England U20s fight back from 16-0 down

Wales U20s were denied a brilliant victory over England as they let a 16-0 half-time lead slip away at Franklin's Gardens, losing 19-16 in their Six Nations opener.

A virtuoso performance by Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, who kicked 11 points and set up Steffan Emanuel's first-half try, moved Wales into a strong lead at half-time.

But England responded well after the break. However, Wales still held the lead until four minutes from time - making the 19-16 defeat all the harder to take for Richard Whiffin's young side.

Wales had denied England a Grand Slam last year with a rousing 23-13 victory at a bouncing Arms Park, but winning away from home would be a different story altogether.

The last time Wales U20s beat England over the border, they went on to win a Grand Slam back in 2016. And they came desperately close in Northampton - left to rue a late chance that could have made the result safe.

Early on, it was clear that Wales had a plan to play the conditions with their kicking game.

The varied boot of Scarlets fly-half Leggatt-Jones caused all manner of problems in the backfield, while he was handed the chance to open the scoring after just four minutes from the tee.

The playmaker, a week after showing up well in his first senior start in the URC, continued to find space behind England - with one superb 50:22 helping to sustain Wales' dominance in terms of possession and territory.

Half-chances came and went as Wales continued to be smart in the conditions, with their scrum on top for much of the opening 40 minutes.

But for much of the half, you feared Wales would have to make do with a slender 3-0 lead at the break.

Then, just after the half-hour mark, England overplayed near their own line. As a pass went to ground,