Wales on familiar path as they let control slip

IF you put a blindfold on someone and asked them to walk in a straight line, odds are that by the time they regained their sight, they'd learn they had veered off course one way or the other.

- By BEN JAMES

There's an element of that at play when Wales captain Dewi Lake said after the defeat to Japan that Wales thought they “were in control”.

Like walking blindfolded, that illusion of control can quickly become detached from reality.

For 45 or so minutes, Wales were largely in control in Kitakyushu. Not brilliant by any means but in control.

The hot and humid conditions proved tricky. For all the talk of the heat not being an excuse, it’s undeniable that it did have a major impact on the match, making it a stop-start affair.

An hour-long first-half in that heat wasn’t ideal. Yet Wales, if not fluid, were relatively competent in their pragmatic gameplan.

Some early edges were found and Wales looked like they could have some joy getting their back-three into the game.

However, they never got close to overplaying - instead leaning on kicking to compete and trying to turn territory into points.

You always sensed that, given the deep scar tissue that has come from 17 consecutive Test defeats, Wales needed a healthy margin to avoid implosion.

Turns out 12 points isn’t healthy enough. It really should have been. This isn't a strong Japan side.

Early on, Wales had decent field position, but a few lineout miscues as much down to the greasy ball as anything else - hindered them.

A failure to take full advantage of Ichigo Nakakusu’s yellow card in the first-half - beyond Tom Rogers’ immediate try - was a blow, with Japan able to take minutes off the clock well in that period.

Even then, once Rogers had crossed, the signs of decay started to show.

Japan got on top at the scrum, while Wales got a little overeager, letting their discipline slip.

By the end of the first-half, the edges Wales had been finding at the start couldn’t be reached, as they got narrow and went backwards.

Perhaps, in the second-half, that became a big part of the reason they leaned harder into the pragmatism.