Thinking Outside The Boks

Was there really any pretense at making it a contest in Wales' preparation for the game? The new-look team played almost as if the opposition weren't there. As if the only appropriate response to losing possession was to let the other lot score so we can have the ball back. Defence? No, that's next week's training session. Didn't you get the memo?

South Africa had five pieces of quality possession, and scored five tries. The rest of the match seemed to consist entirely of brave, often inventive, but horribly toothless Welsh attack. It seems only yesterday that we were complaining that our backs could beat anyone given a fair share of ball. Hang on... it was yesterday! Well, we can add that to the list of cozy little delusions to disabuse ourselves of. Wales had hold of the pill nearly all game, and could only manage 12 points.

That doesn't tell anywhere near the full story, of course. There was much to admire, particularly in the attacking play of debutant Morgan Stoddart, and the application and distribution shown by Gavin Henson which indicated he may be on his way back for real. It's relevant and fair to welcome the positives visible in Wales' performance, provided we keep our eyes on the 34-12 scoreline, which in a home game is no approximation of Good Enough. Wozza (and Shaun?) will have winced at the frailty of some of the first-up defence; your mission, chaps, should you choose to accept it...

Let's Hope The Cunning Lingers

Licence to thrill: "Davies kept his cards close to his chest about who would mark Habana – Shanklin or Mark Jones – quipping, 'We have got a cunning plan.'"

Blackadder-literate Welsh fans may wish to retort that the Welsh management's record in this regard is hardly 100%. It's hard to remember an on-field strategy from Wales that anyone could brush their teeth with...

But enough - what of the game? Can this new-fangled outfit really hope to keep up with the giddily confident Springboks? A glance at recent domestic form suggest otherwise; debutant Morgan Stoddart had a nightmare for the Scarlets against Wasps last weekend; the Hook-Henson hinge - while undoubtedly the best option - still looks like a squirt of WD40 wouldn't go amiss; and where that pack will suddenly discover hitherto unseen ball-winning skills, is a question I ponder with more apprehension than genuine intrigue.

But would it really be better for Wales to lose, as some suggest? It's a compelling argument - we're in a mess, it needs sorting out, and a miracle win against the rampant World Champions would create a short-term high allowing much-needed reforms to be put off yet again. On the other hand, a defeat so universally predicted can hardly make the situation much worse.

Compelling, as I said; but I'm afraid I remain stubbornly uncompelled. The simple equation of success is; Success=Success. The best way to win the next game will always be to have won your last one, and if decades of underachievement have taught Welsh fans even one lesson, it is surely that losing never, ever solved anything?

Oh, and apologies for the post title. It's in the blood, I'm afraid; I have a punning clan, you see.