ABERYSTWYTH’S Deian Gwynn said it was a “special feeling” to be part of the Wales Under 20s outfit which denied their English counterparts a Grand Slam on Friday evening.

Played in front of a passion-packed Cardiff Arms Park, the English juggernaut was brought to a halt as Wales sealed a convincing 23-13 win that handed France their first championship since 2018.

The former Ysgol Penweddig pupil said: “We’ve spoken about it all week, about just focusing on ourselves.

“I think we’ve showed that tonight, the desire and just wanting it a bit more. It’s a good feeling.

“It means a lot playing for my country, coming from Aberystwyth. It feels special for family and all the work put in.”

England came into the game with four straight wins and immediately went onto the attack, taking the lead after three minutes when Welsh-born hooker Kepu Tuipulotu set up his front row colleague Ralph McEachran for a try at the posts. Ben Coen added the extras.

Six points each from the boots of Harri Wilde and Ben Coen kept the game finely balanced, before Wales’ Steffan Emanuel raced clear five minutes before the break. Wilde’s conversion made it 13-13.

Things went from bad to worse for Enlgand as Harry Rees-Weldon produced a fantastic leaped finish in the corner and Wilde’s conversion from the touchline sent Wales into a 20-13 lead and they made sure of the win with another Wilde penalty on 70 minutes.

Head coach Richard Whiffin said: “This is a huge moment for the boys. Beating Ireland and England at home, the winners of the tournament in the previous three years, shows we are trending in the right direction.

“We were confident going into the game and we knew they would bring their power game. They got on top in the scrum at the start, but we sorted that out.

“They had had it their own way in the previous four games, but when they started to lose a couple of battles, they began to doubt themselves. We now know we can live with powerful teams and that we have some ‘X-Factor’ ability to hurt teams.

“We were defending really well and putting in double shots, but we got caught at the breakdown in the first half. We needed to be smarter, and we were on top in the second half.”

He added: “To keep a side like England to zero points in the second half was tremendous and proves we were on it for the full 80 minutes. This side has now set a marker for itself.

“And a huge shout out to the crowd as well. It was the biggest for a Wales U20 game since 2013 and they certainly brought us home.”