Peter Jackson’s verdict: Wales know the precise problem

George North knew he needed something special to reassure the faithful shocked at the sight of Bryan Habana giving their gigantic wing the brush-off.
Someone would have to pay for the indignity of that aberration during the bone-crunching ferocity of the opening quarter against the Springboks.  The poor old Pumas found themselves caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
After seven long days chomping at the bit, Wales unleashed North for a perfect execution of a training ground ploy. Mike Phillips’ reverse pass sent Anglesey’s finest careering through a gap almost as wide as the Menai Strait for the try which effectively finished the match as a contest after barely 20 minutes.
On a day when the crowd shrunk by 20,000 from the previous week, North had rewarded those who kept the faith with his first try at the most atmospheric temple in world rugby for more than two years.
At the end it added up to a win of record proportions and yet, despite that, North still managed to let an under-powered Argentinian team off comparatively lightly.  Had he made them pay the full price, Wales would have marked the occasion with a try of wondrous magnitude just before half-time.
In terms of dimension, it ought to have been a 100-metre extravaganza to equal the length-of-the-field try finished by Philippe Saint-Andre for France during the double-edged Grand Slam decider against Will Carling’s England more than 20 years ago.
Dan Biggar dared to run the ball from behind his own line, just as Pierre Berbizier had done at Twickenham. Scott Williams broke through the first line of Argentinian defence before releasing North.
Suddenly, one of the biggest beasts in the jungle began to plough a long furrow of destruction, like a stampeding rhinoceros scattering any Puma in his path.  North had just about cleared every obstacle when one of the bigger cats finally got to grips with him.
He had delayed the simplest of inside passes to Leigh Halfpenny a second too long, otherwise the Lions full-back or the other support runner, Sam Warburton, would have been in between the posts.   As a work of art, Michelangelo would have been proud of it.
There will be those who shrug their shoulders and say: So what?    Four tries, 40 points, what more do you want?   With respect, they are missing the point, one which will not be missed by those responsible for carrying out a forensic dissection of the video.
What Wales lack at the crucial moment during that move is what they have lacked in their recurring failure to beat one of the Big Two – precision.  The All Blacks have that precision, so, too, the Springboks.
That same precision, the ability to make the right decision at the right time, is precisely why Wales take the super-heavyweights the full distance only to drop a narrow points decision.
Warren Gatland touched upon it in the match programme after the inquest into the previous week’s joust against the Springboks.  “In terms of of territory, possession and line-break stats we were right in there,” he said.  “We just need to be more clinical in terms of finishing off chances.”  Had that been the case just before half-time, Wales would have had their wondrous try as blinding evidence that they dare to score tries other teams would barely dream of.
Overall, they can be reasonably satisfied with their afternoon’s work, reasonably because the performance has to be put in the context of the opposition.
While their superiority was never in doubt, Wales were lucky that Argentinian incompetence let them off the hook more than once.
A pass fumbled on the edge of the Wales 22 by Nicholas Sanchez allowed Mike Phillips to steal away for the long-range opening try.   Ten minutes later when a Sanchez penalty hit the near upright, Santiago Fernandez fumbled the ricochet with the line at his mercy.
The Pumas, handicapped by the enforced absence of the warrior-like Juan Fernandez-Lobbe, were a pale shadow of their old selves.  Wales rather underlined the point during the second half, driving the Argentinian pack over from a line-out for substitute hooker Ken Owens to claim the try.
What Diego Cash, Federico Mendez, Mario Ledesma and other gnarled front row veterans made of that is best left to the imagination.
With Australia looming on the horizon, Wales know that the serious business is still to be done.
In that respect, Biggar will have been the chief beneficiary of yesterday’s romp and while Rhys Priestland had an infinitely tougher gig the previous week, the Osprey could not have done more to reclaim the jersey.
The trick now will be to deliver four more tries against the Wallabies in a fortnight.   Precision is the name of the game.