Peter Jackson column: Heroes? No,Wales lost plot when it mattered!

Scotland took their enforced leave of the World Cup in a state of understandable high dudgeon hours after Ireland had beaten them to it, suffering from over-exposure to Argentina.
While the Scots found the most convenient of scapegoats in the hapless Craig Joubert and the Irish began to question their basic skills, Wales came home to an acclamation of sorts. The vast majority of former players recast as pundits applauded a heroic failure.
Maybe some stopped short of saying what they really thought for fear of offending their pals in the dressing-room. Maybe others over-estimated the cumulative effect of losing a few backs too many.
Whatever their reasons, they have been selling Wales short. How can a country which ought to have been in the final four years ago be satisfied with going out at the last eight, whatever the circumstances?
Wales went into the World Cup with the avowed declaration of winning it, justifiably so given their near-miss at the last one and the advantage of home comforts in Cardiff for two of their four pool matches. As a team of some stature, Wales have gone far beyond the stage of gallant losers, as they were against England in Brisbane in 2003.
There is no question that they suffered from the longest of casualty lists and yet that had nothing to do with the major reason why Wales are on the outside looking in at this weekend’s semi-finals – because they lost the plot during the 11-minute siege of a desperately depleted Australian line at Twickenham.
It takes more than indomitable spirit and unflinching courage to win the World Cup. It takes skill, an instinctive ability to make the right move in the fury of the moment and when it mattered most, against Australia and South Africa, Wales were found wanting.
Once again, no big Southern Hemisphere scalp but then there hasn’t been one since the first World Cup almost 30 years ago. Those pundits who applaud Wales for a job well done on the basis that they could not have done more are, with respect, wrong.
They could have done more when it was 15 against 13 at Twickenham a fortnight ago. They could have done more when they had the Springbok line at their mercy at the same venue the following week.
It has been left to others from an earlier generation to shine a light on where Wales have been going wrong and where they continue to go wrong. Their speed, in body and mind, range of passing and ability to off-load a split-second before the point of contact all suffer badly in comparison to the All Blacks and the Pumas.
The very best Welsh players – Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau – deserve better. Outstanding in every respect, they will have ample time this weekend to reflect on a lost opportunity.
In heralding New Zealand for their “beautiful game”, Gerald Davies told BBC Wales: “We, the Welsh, supplied the world with side-stepping. Have we got side-steppers now? Too often we seem to be occupying the gym and weights room and we look like it.” Davies’ fellow Lions wing from the same Seventies era, JJ Williams, is another not afraid to say what he thinks as can be seen elsewhere in The Rugby Paper. He blames the coaches for “safety-first tactics”.
Whatever the reason, Wales cannot score tries in any quantity against the other top ten ranked countries. At this World Cup, New Zealand wings scored 15 times, before yesterday.  Wales managed one – Hallam Amos against Uruguay.
Our table, based on the last 12 Tests played between those countries, puts Wales at the bottom beneath France and Scotland.