Ireland survived a last-minute scare to hold on and claim a hard-fought 13-12 win over France in the second round of matches in the RBS Under 20 Six Nations, the first time the Irish have ever beaten the French at Under 20 or Under 21 level.

The 10,000 crowd at the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble thought the home side had snatched victory at the death when number 8 Karl Chateau burrowed his way over the try-line but Television Match Official Derek Bevan was unable to confirm the grounding to Ireland's relief.

France had taken the lead early on with two penalties by fly half Clément Otazo inside the opening 10 minutes, but Ireland began to find their feet in the chilly conditions and despite some promising attacks they only had a penalty from captain Paddy Jackson to show for their first-half efforts.

All that changed, though, within minutes of the restart when a French clearance found Foster Horan near the left touchline, the replacement wing darting back towards midfield and breaking free of Bastien Chalureau's tackle to score under the posts.

Jackson's conversion gave Ireland a 10-6 lead, but by the time the hour mark was reached the home side were back in front after two more Otazo penalties. Ilian Perraux missed with another penalty for France, one which would prove crucial after JJ Hanrahan edged Ireland back ahead with his own attempt.

Roared on by their vocal home crowd, France tried to fight back and had Ireland on the back foot, but the Irish defence held firm under pressure to secure a confidence boosting victory and send them to the top of the standings with four points from two matches.

First win for Wales

England are the only other unbeaten team in the Six Nations after beating Scotland in round one, but their match with Italy was postponed as a result of a frozen pitch at the Mario Battaglini Stadium - one of the venues for last year's IRB Junior World Championship - in Rovigo.

The postponement means Italy are yet to get their campaign started under new coach Craig Green as their opening match with France also fell victim to the weather. This match has now been rescheduled for 18 February.

Wales, meanwhile, bounced back from the disappointment of an error-strewn 11-6 loss to Ireland the previous weekend with a 28-15 victory over Scotland before a near 6,000 capacity crowd at Parc Eirias in Colwyn Bay.

Wing Luke Morgan scored a try in each half as North Wales came out to support the Under 20s team, Ross Jones also touching down with fly half Sam Davies kicking 13 points in the victory as Wales built up a 28-3 lead just past the hour mark.

However, if Wales were hoping to finish with a flourish then Scotland had other ideas with 17 year old Jamie Farndale touching down for a brace to make the final score more respectable. It was, though, still a ninth successive loss for Scotland in the competition.