I found myself thinking of Shaun Edwards during the last couple of minutes of the First Test against South Africa. Wales' impregnable defence suddenly looked porous. Had the Springboks managed to cross for one more try and reached the landmark 50 points the flame that burns within the Englishman's soul may have exploded. Each try came as a wounding blow to the proud coach as he looked on helplessly.
Words could not express his disappointment and I can understand that. It was not that Wales were worn down by constant pressure. The tries were not an inevitable consequence of attack after attack. The Boks just scored, easily - far too easily considering all the effort and work invested in this aspect of play. Edwards must have wondered what had happened to the team he knew.
During the World Cup, Wales conceded three and a half tries per game, a statistic that Robert Howley told me was unacceptable if you want to win at international level. He was proved right, both during the Six Nations and this First Test.
Much of the criticism of the performance in Bloemfontein has centred on the unforced errors that Wales made which prevented them from gaining any momentum. Yet, despite these elementary mistakes Wales still enjoyed the majority of possession for large parts of the game, so it should not have made that much of a difference to the defence.
Gatland's ambition when he took the job was that Wales would no longer be an easy touch. He is prepared to accept that Wales will lose matches but teams would have to earn their victories against them. For the first time since his reign began, Wales not only lost but were beaten by a side that did not have to work hard to achieve it. That is what has hurt Gatland and Edwards so much.
Expectations were high for the First Test. The Welsh public need no second invitation to go overboard and Gatland had previously played down the success of the Grand Slam, but not this time. Gatland was bullish about Wales' chances and had publicly expressed his anger at being dismissed by the local media in South Africa. He wanted to earn the South Africans' respect and, at least he will have another chance to do that in Pretoria this weekend.
The lessons learnt from the first encounter with the World Champions are that we should not get drawn into their style of game. Coping with the Boks' physicality is a prerequisite. It is impossible to win otherwise. However when Wales had the ball they tried to beat South Africa at their own game. Without the ball Wales must stand firm, but with the ball we must play the game that suits us.
The two tries were scored when Wales managed to get width into the game. The Gatland mantra is that teams must 'earn the right to go wide', that you must go forward before the ball can be spread. As a general principle, he is absolutely correct. The trouble is that going forward against a team that is physically stronger than you requires something special. Wales need to be inventive and slick to get beyond the gain line because going straight is not much of an option.
Any analysis of last weekend is not complete unless I mention the 'L' word. The open sore that I thought had healed was picked apart by the Springbok second-rows. The lineout (aaargghh, I said it) must return to basics - front ball is better than no ball at all.
I think that Gatland has some difficult decisions ahead and I have no particular solutions ready for him. I am concerned that Cooper looks hesitant, that the centre partnership looks sterile and that we have two full backs with bags of talent but lots to learn.
Last week, Gatland tried to instill self-belief into his players, this week it's about building confidence. In that case the management should have prepared a video of the Welsh highlights of Bloemfontein which consisted of a Shane Williams montage and lots of scrums. I never thought I'd say this, but I hope there are lots of scrums on Saturday. Maybe if we can get Shane to play at 9, we could cause them some serious problems.
Sadly, the task ahead at Wales' graveyard ground of Loftus Versfeld will be even harder. The Springboks will have improved and this is no time for Wales to blood youngsters. As I said before the First Test, I think that winning is beyond us but respectability in the form of a 15-point margin would be acceptable. Finally, those who were Lions candidates after the Six Nations have one more chance to prove that they're up to it. Another pasting and they may as well book next year's summer holidays now - and not in South Africa.
Gwyn Jones is part of S4C's presentation team providing exclusive terrestrial highlights coverage of the South Africa v Wales test series.
© 2008 S4C
O Gymru / Made in Wales