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Wales won the battle but not the war. That’s the best way to sum up what can only be described as a heartbreaking loss to world champions, South Africa in Wellington on Sunday.
If Warren Gatland is not going to win a match that was so blatantly there for the taking, a win over the Boks will continue to be a figment of his and the whole of Wales’ imagination.
In eight close Tests between the countries post-isolation, the Welsh Dragons are yet to come out on top against the South Africans.
Gatland’s approach apparently in the build-up to the Group D match was not even cautiously optimistic. It bordered on arrogance to suggest that they would beat the Boks given their close encounters over the past few seasons.
Of course, Gatland and his management team must have been using their “near-misses” and close encounters of previous seasons against the Boks as a yardstick to predict a possible turnaround in fortunes for the Dragon Slayers.
But Mr Gatland, you can’t expect to just pitch up and roll over the Boks – even when you are seemingly on top of them and playing them off the park, now can you?
I remember a one-off Test between the Boks and Argentina in Port Elizabeth in 2003. Argentina fresh from a historic 2-0 Test series win over France at home, arrived in buoyant mood for the Test.
Leading by nine points with only two minutes left on the clock, the Pumas, after a scintillating display by playmaker Felipe Contempomi, let in Brent Russell for a converted try.
Bok fly-half Louis Koen then kicked a penalty from an acute angle at the final whistle after the Argentinians infringed and the Boks sneaked through 26-25.
It was a travesty indeed for the Pumas – and one could feel for Contempomi and co. They had outsmarted, outhought, outwitted and outplayed the Boks.
Some Bok fans were asking after the game in bewilderment: how did we do that? And were reminded just in case they thought they were dreaming, by looking up at the scoreboard that their team had won what had seemed only moments earlier a losing cause.
Even the Argentinians had to look up at the board to make sure they had in fact been defeated despite a superlative display against the much vaunted opposition.
So you cannot claim to have experienced teams – and sides with the pedigree of the Boks – in your sights and when you get the chance to defeat the enemy, as Wales had, you inevitably through your own naivety snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
If the Welsh Dragons have fire in their belly, the Boks have the passion and the will to never give up the fight – as poor as what they were on Saturday.
The Welsh besides having the lions share of possession (58 – 42%), many forays onto the Bok line, breaking through the Boks’ rush defence on countless occasions, golden opportunities by Priestland and Hook to seal the match, they caved when it counted. And that’s where the men are separated from the boys.
Those defining moments where players can stand up and pull your team through. In tournaments like these, to coin a cliche, it’s not how you played that matters.
Who cares? And the Welsh were great. Hats off to them. But in the end 17-16 to the Boks showed the huge gulf between experience and failure.
The Welsh as fantastic as they were, like so many other World Cup wannabes, need to consult the “How to close out a game manual”.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.