Lake gives body and soul to lift Wales

THE sixth best team in Europe against the double world champions on neutral ground in London sounded ominously like another of those embarrassing mis-matches.

- PETER JACKSON

The challengers’ arrival at Twickenham in such a threadbare condition would have had the Springbok hierarchy wondering whether the opposition were in a fit state to give them a game ahead of the infinitely more serious business back home, the grudge series against Ireland.

Since their Six Nations whitewash, Wales had lost more than 20 players due to injury, non-availability and suspension. They lost another during the week for an altogether different reason, Sam Parry checking out of the training camp reportedly in protest at a lack of respect from head coach Warren Gatland.

The disappearing acts didn’t end with the capped Ospreys hooker walking out in high dudgeon. Ludicrously, two of the starting team had been left no option but to walk off and serve time in the bin within 15 minutes of kick-off with the Boks 14-3 clear.

In their over-anxiety to prop up a fractured defence, first Rio Dyer, then Aaron Wainwright, left referee Chris Busby no option but to brandish his yellow card. Wales, unable to prevent two converted tries with a full team, were down to 13 and in grave danger of paying a savage price for their indiscipline.

Long years of neglect exposed a team shored up by Test novices to defeat on a demoralising scale. The neglect had been largely of the Welsh Rugby Union’s making, a by-product of their lavish investment in Team Wales at the expense of their four regional operations.

Like a flower withering on the vine, the assembly lines bearing the next generation suffered on a nationwide scale from a lack of proper maintenance. And so it came to pass three months ago that the governing body reaped as it had sown, a wooden spoon.