THERE are some things that the current crop of Wales Under-20s will never experience, like having to get off the internet because someone in the house wants to use the phone or associating a song as having a mid-tune break because it featured 45 minutes into a homemade compilation cassette.

But it’s probably for the best that the 2016 Six Nations champions have already gone through painful defeats at the hands of southern hemisphere opposition.

History suggests it will be common theme if the youngsters are lucky enough to have long international careers and it’s also done a good job of lowering expectations.

Wales Under-20s would have been grateful for the exploits of Gareth Bale & Co as they licked their wounds in their hotel in the north west of England on Monday night. After being given a 71-12 thrashing by their New Zealand counterparts in the World Rugby U20 Championship, they were spared too much criticism by there being a far, far bigger show in Toulouse.

The class of 2011 didn’t have it so lucky when they were given a 92-0 mauling by the Baby Blacks in the tournament in Italy.

That Welsh side featured just three players who are on the senior tour as we speak – full-back Liam Williams, prop Rhodri Jones and utility back Matthew Morgan – whereas the Kiwis fielded an impressive line-up featuring Beauden Barrett, Waisake Naholo, Charles Piutau, TJ Perenara, Codie Taylor, Luke Whitelock, Sam Cane and Brodie Retallick. Oh, and Gareth Anscombe at fly-half before he opted for the land of his mother in 2014.

Then head coach Richard Webster was fuming with the former flanker, a Heineken Cup winner with Bath, saying: “We’re trying to create an elite in the Under-20s, but they are elite in what? They are elite trainers, they are elite at taking supplements, they are elite at looking at videos and looking at computers.

“They aren’t elite under pressure and knowing what their bodies can do and what pain is about.”

Thankfully the reaction hasn’t been as extreme after the current crop’s disappointing World Cup.

They headed to Manchester with genuine title ambitions after their Six Nations Grand Slam but lost narrowly to both Ireland and New Zealand in the group stages and sneaked past Georgia after an under-par display.

Wales will attempt to at least finish with a flourish against Scotland on Saturday – a game that will once again go under the radar (kick-off 4.30pm) given that Chris Coleman leads the footballers into the last 16 at Parc des Princes (kick-off 5pm) – but it’s been a tournament to at least calm some folk down.

When Jason Strange’s side were enjoying a clean sweep in the Six Nations there were calls in some quarters to make sure that the talent’s route to professional rugby was not blocked; this past month has emphasised that is has to be softly, softly, catchee monkey.

There are some Under-20s who are ready to play big roles in the seniors (tighthead Dillon Lewis with Cardiff Blues, rested Ospreys centre Owen Watkin and wing Keelan Giles), others who need to be dripped through (number eight Harri Keddie at Newport Gwent Dragons, suspended Ospreys lock Adam Beard, captain Tom Phillips) and others who need to keep learning in the Principality Premiership and British and Irish Cup.

The LV= Cup will also prove to be invaluable when it returns this season; the Anglo-Welsh tournament gives the first-teamers a breather and exposes young talent to a higher level of rugby than they have previously played.

The performances of Keddie in the Six Nations and for Ebbw Vale in the Premiership certainly gave reason for optimism – the Dragons appear to have another bright back rower on their books.

But next season the number eight/blindside from Llanvaches must follow the trail blazed by Newbridge’s Ollie Griffiths at Rodney Parade; in 2015/16 the openside was dripped into the first team and was making good progress until a hamstring injury suffered while training with Wales 7s ended his campaign in January.

Griffiths, who was the star of the 2014/15 Under-20s, will have been an interested after the news that Wales will be reintroducing an A team for the coming season that will, initially at least, pit them against Six Nations rivals.

The thinking is that such fixtures will bridge the gap to international rugby and that (as long as it is done correctly and not at the expense of the regional quartet’s schedule) could be a welcome addition given that very few players take to the Test stage like George North.

Hallam Amos is experiencing a few problems in New Zealand at the moment yet the winger, a member of Wales U20s in 2013, already has 77 Dragons games under his belt. He is a class player and I have no doubt he will flourish in international rugby but the process is a slow one.

The rush to acclaim Under-20s talent and the desire for them to be flung in risks damaging their long-term future.

Professional rugby is an unforgiving place for players in their early 20s let alone teenagers and some people struggle to grasp the huge leap from the Principality Premiership to the Guinness Pro12.

The past month has served as a timely reminder that the young lads aren’t ready just yet. Give them time.

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THE Millwall chant of ‘No one likes us’ (we don’t care) was emblazoned across one of the many flags hung up outside a Saint Etienne bar on Monday afternoon.

It’s a tag line that Eddie Jones has seemingly adopted for the English rugby team, who have gone from being likeable losers to niggly and at times horrid winners.

The Australian has spearheaded a miraculous turn around in the space of five months in which they have gone from being a rabble at their own World Cup to being Six Nations Grand Slam winners and series victors against the Wallabies Down Under.

While there are many reasons for this sudden change, one appears to be England embracing their role as the dark side.

English rugby will always been seen as being arrogant so they might as well be slightly arrogant.

Seemingly after every Australian error over the past fortnight there has been English whooping and hollering.

This hasn’t just been by usual suspects Dylan Hartley and Mike Brown, one of the biggest talkers is Maro Itoje, who is clearly a lovely fella off the pitch but doesn’t shy away from clapping an opponent’s mistake in their face.

After the genial Lancaster era, Jones is bringing the best out of this English group, letting them snarl and walk with a swagger.