WALES will face a swift reunion with New Zealand after suffering a last-gasp defeat to the holders at the World Rugby U20 Championship, writes Chris Kirwan.

Jason Strange’s side were denied a famous victory against the Baby Blacks by an 80th minute penalty in their final Pool A fixture in Salford.

The 18-17 success gave New Zealand a sniff of a place in the semi-finals but instead it will be hosts England, Ireland, Argentina and South Africa fighting it out for the title.

The Kiwis hopes of finishing as best-placed runners-up were dashed when the South Africans beat France 40-31 with a bonus point.

It means that Wales will get the chance for revenge when the sides meet at Manchester City Academy Stadium on Monday (kick-off 3.15pm) in the fifth-place semi-final match.

The Six Nations champions have paid the price for narrow defeats to Ireland (26-25) and New Zealand either side of a tense success against Georgia (10-9).

But the performance against the Kiwis gives reason to believe they can follow in the footsteps of the class of 2012 by beating the Baby Blacks.

Wales made a rapid start to race into a 11-0 lead and didn’t trail until the clock had passed 79 thanks to their tenacious defence.

They felt complete scrum dominance, with Cardiff Blues tighthead Dillon Lewis immense, did not get rewarded sufficiently while match-winner Jordie Barrett could have seen red rather than yellow for smashing Dan Jones with no arms off the ball.

Nonetheless, Strange was full of praise for his Grand Slam winners and believes his group will want to finish the tournament on a high.

“I was really pleased and proud of the effort and commitment that the players put in,” said the former fly-half.

“They were superb from the first minute to the last and we went up another level. It could’ve gone either way and, like against Ireland, the margins are fine.

“The composure was lacking in the last two or three minutes but we need to go through that as a group and as individuals.

“They are a proud bunch and we could have been in the semi-finals but there is still a lot for us to play for.”

Monday fixtures: 9th place semi-finals – Georgia v Italy (3.15pm, Salford), France v Japan (5.30pm, Salford); 5th place semi-finals – New Zealand v Wales (3.15pm, Manchester City Academy Stadium), Scotland v Australia (7.45pm, Salford); semi-finals – Ireland v Argentina (5.30pm, Manchester City Academy Stadium), England v South Africa (7.45pm, Manchester City Academy Stadium)