Wales fight back to beat Jamaica on Test return

Man of the match Gil Dudson scored the third of Wales' five tries

Wales (4) 22

Tries: Williams, Worthington, Clarke, Dudson, Fozard Con: Fozard

Jamaica (10) 16

Tries: Jones-Bishop, Young, Hudson-Leett Con: Carter Pens: Rush

Wales came from behind to clinch victory at a rain-soaked Neath in their first Test match for two years.

New-look Jamaica had led 10-0 through tries by Ben Jones-Bishop and Alex Young.

But Wales switched tactics to suit the worsening conditions and steadily turned the tide.

Record-cap holder Rhys Williams struck on the stroke of half-time before debutants Huw Worthington and Max Clarke went over in the second half.

Man of the match Gil Dudson and Matty Fozard then completed a rousing win, before Joshua Hudson-Lett's late consolation score, in front of 1,300 at The Gnoll.

Victory was tainted by injury to back row Bailey Antrobus, who now looks a major doubt for next week's World Cup qualifiers in France.

Head coach John Kear names his 20-strong squad for the European series on Wednesday.

It had been eight years since the men's national team last played in south Wales.

They got off to a worrying start, conceding a try inside five minutes and losing Antrobus in the process.

The York back row, recently returned from a serious ACL injury, hurt his knee as Jones-Bishop slipped through his tackle to score the opener.

Jamaica doubled their lead moments later when Kieran Rush's kick eluded Mike Butt and Young pounced for the second try.

Sydney Roosters wing Young, brother of England's Dom Young, was the only non-UK-based player in Jamaica's team that included eight debutants.

Among the new Reggae Warriors were Huddersfield's Darius Carter, Rochdale's Jayden Dayes and York's Isaac Coleman, a late replacement for James Woodburn-Hall.

Huddersfield's Rush nudged Jamaica further ahead with a penalty late in the first half before Wales first steadied the ship and then struck back either side of half time.

Williams, extending his Welsh record with his 36th Test appearance, raced on to captain Elliot Kear's kick before replacement Worthington crashed over from close range.

Sam Bowring also went close, while Jamaica lost playmaker Rush to injury early in the second half and lost their way.

Billy Walkley pulled off a stunning try-saving tackle to deny Carter with the scores level before his footwork and handling skills sparked the first of three Welsh tries in eight minutes.

Clarke, Dudson and Fozard all crossed from close range as Wales stuck to a basic gameplan, before a kind bounce gave Hudson-Lett a late try for the visitors.

Wales head coach John Kear said: “We couldn’t have played any worse in the first half but we looked after the ball better in the second half and kept thing simple because you just couldn’t play pretty football in those conditions.

“We gave six debuts, got the lads together for some time and won in front of a good crowd so it’s a good night for us.

“It sets us up in a really positive state of mind for next week’s qualifiers.”

Wales: Walkley; Butt, Roberts, W Evans, Williams; Kear (capt), Fozard; Dudson, Yates, B Evans, Davies, Antrobus, Bowring.

Interchanges: Worthington, Clarke, Walker, Robinson

Jamaica: Jones-Bishop; Young, Carter, Ball, Agoro; Coleman, Rush; Gittens-Bedward, Tomlinson, Andrade, Dayes, Small, Ramsden.

Interchanges: Hudson-Lett, Skerrett-Evans, Brown, JM Coleman.

Referee: Marcus Griffiths (England)