Tom Howe is determined to finish the U20s Six Nations on a high when Wales host Italy at Rodney Parade on Sunday.

It has been a tale of what could have been for the Wales youngsters, who have impressed throughout the Championship, falling to agonising defeats to England and France, and beating Scotland, before last weekend’s free-scoring loss to Ireland.

Howe, one of five Glantaf products in the matchday 23, was disappointed with his side’s performance in Cork, as Wales failed to make territory and possession count.

But he insists there were still plenty of positives and is desperate to finish the campaign on a winning note. 

He said: From a neutral point of view, that was a crazy game of rugby.  I just think we let ourselves down at times.  We compounded errors and when we had the opportunity to exit, we just let little things slip, little slips in concentration.  

“It’s a tough place to come and play. We did have good opportunities, it’s just we could have done better. 

“It was quite back and forth, it was hard to control the game, hard to actually get a foothold in the game. It’s a tough one to take. 

“We could have focused more and capitalised on opportunities. It’s just one of those things. You can’t fault the effort. 

“I wouldn’t look too deeply into the scoreboard. We’re a strong group of boys and we’re just going to bounce back from this and hopefully get a win against Italy.

“It’ll be nice to finish strong, know, actually show what this group’s about. We work really hard within the week and it’s about time we actually get an opportunity to show how good we really are.”