Vincent Pinto went over for the bonus point try with the final play of the game as France Under-20s kicked off the defence of their crown with a hard-fought 32-10 win over Wales in Vannes.
Sacha Zegueur – who also saw red at the end of the game – crossed for his side’s first try but not before Joe Roberts had put the visitors in front.
Cai Evans and Louis Carbonel traded penalties but France went ahead before the interval when Matthis Lebel went over in the corner.
And after the break it was France who turned the screw, Killian Geraci going over and Carbonel adding another penalty before Pinto’s late solo score down the right wing secured all five points for the reigning world champions who take on England next weekend.
FAST START
The Welsh men’s team won in Paris on Friday night, but the women’s side went down to a heavy defeat in Montpellier on Saturday night. The final act of the weekend in Vannes on Sunday began with Zegueur’s searing break to win a penalty that Carbonel slotted to put the hosts 3-0 up.
But Wales hit the front soon after, a set-piece move from a scrum saw Roberts – introduced off the bench inside five minutes – show and go to burst clear and dot down, Cai Evans adding the extras.
Before the half-hour mark however, France hit back and it was the ever-present Zegueur who barged over after a clever lineout peel at the front with Geraci feeding him.
Carbonel added the extras but Evans hit back with a penalty and it looked like it would be 10-10 at the interval.
France – Under-20s Six Nations champions last year on points difference from England – found a score before the break as the pressure mounted. Lebel started and finished the move in the left corner with Zegueur again providing the scoring pass.
SECOND HALF
In the second half, Geraci went over from short range in the right corner, Carbonel missing with the extras but adding a penalty on the hour mark to take them more than two scores clear.
Thereafter it was a case of whether France could summon a fourth try and the bonus point before the close and Julien Delbouis thought he had done it before the TMO spotted an offside in the build-up from Carbonel’s clever chip.
Zegueur then saw red for a dangerous tackle but France went from one end to the other in the final minute as Pinto burst clear to finish off their opening victory in perfect style.
