Wales were quick off the mark and scored their first try after ten minutes when winger Ashley Evans latched onto a cross-field kick from fly-half Sam Davies and touched down to give his side a 5-0 lead.

England hit back five minutes later with a penalty from the left boot of Henry Slade making it 5-3, but a penalty from Davies and a converted try, once again touched down by Evans, made it 15-3 as the half-time whistle approached.

With England's hopes fading fast, a much-needed try from Leicester Tigers Tom Price looked to have given them a lifeline going into the interval, but the score was chalked off and the English were reduced to 14 men when lock Dom Barrow was sin-binned for kneeing during a ruck.

As the clocked ticked down on England, they finally made their breakthrough 15 minutes into the second period as Exeter Chiefs full-back Jack Nowell coasted through a gap in the Welsh back line to score a try, and Chiefs team-mate Slade was on hand to slot home the resulting conversion to make it 15-10 with 25 minutes to play.

Sam Hill levelled things up with a try before Henry Slade gave England the advantage with the conversion

Just five minutes later the comeback was complete as centre Sam Hill, another Exeter Chiefs player, forced his way over the line to level things up, before the reliable Slade put England ahead for the first time with the conversion to make it 17-15.

Slade took his points tally to 13 for the match with two further penalties to secure a 23-15 win for England, earning them their first ever world junior title.

Coach Nick Walshe was understandably overjoyed at the comeback.

"I'm absolutely delighted," he said.

"The lads certainly did it the hard way, but we showed real character in the second half and it's amazing to get the win.

"We put a strong emphasis on performance, and in the second 40 we delivered.

"These guys have worked so hard, not only over the past few weeks, but over the course of the season, and they deserve their win."

Captain Jack Clifford, who plies his trade with Harlequins, hailed the win as the finest moment of his career to date.

"I'm so proud of all of the guys." he said following the win.

England become the world junior champions for the first time after a stunning comeback over their Welsh rivals

"Massive credit to Wales - they were excellent in the first half and we struggled to be honest, but we came out after the break and starting to build some momentum.

"To get the win is a dream come true - the highlight of my career."

Match-winner Slade said: "It's such an amazing feeling to win this trophy.

"It's the last time we'll play together as a group and we knew that we had one more performance left in us.

"We definitely did it the hard way, but we're just buzzing to actually get the win.

"Credit to the Welsh, they put up one hell of a fight - but we've done it, and I can't wait for it to sink in."

England defeated host nation France, ran in 109 unanswered points against the United States and came out on top against the All Blacks of New Zealand on their way to the title.

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