Remember Dad’s Army? Remember Corporal Jones crying ‘Don’t panic, don’t panic!’ as all around him lost their heads.
I can’t help hearing that phrase echoing through my head as we Welsh cogitate on the events of the Edinburgh weekend.
Disappointing performance, without doubt, although I struggle to understand why we seem to think we have a God-given right to go away from home and beat a team that has been playing better than we have over the last few months.
Off we trot to Scotland with blind optimism. And when that optimism is dashed we see the blinding light that leads to a Saul of Tarsus-style conversion.
Hindsight suddenly tells us that we could see it coming, that the selection was all wrong, that it has been all wrong since the start, and the rest of the campaign is doomed to disaster.
Why did it all go wrong? Because of lack of passion, poor selection, injury problems, poor strategy, no plan B, poor decision-making, no leadership, Scottish revivalism.
We’re going to be whitewashed in the Six Nations, the World Cup will be a humiliating disaster, we won’t win a game.
The end of our rugby world is nigh.
Unless…
Unless radical action is taken now, say the pundits ( professional and amateur, its all the same).
Coach Gareth Jenkins can have one last chance (maybe). But OUT must go Duncan Jones, Rhys Thomas, Adam Jones, Robert Sidoli, Ryan Jones, Stephen Jones, Jamie Robinson, Chris Czekaj.
And maybe Mike Phillips would be better than Dwayne Peel as well.
IN must come Michael Owen, Gavin Henson, Gethin Jenkins, Chris Horsman, Mathew Rees, Ian Gough, Colin Charvis, Shane Williams. Move James Hook to outside half. Can’t play Alex Popham and Ryan Jones together.
Does not matter some of them are in dreadful form, injured, near retirement, or did little better against Ireland than the people they must replace. Let’s do it anyway.
Yes, that’s it, just change everything in one go and then it could still be all right.
I feel so much better now that I have found the solution through my cold and calculated analysis of the issue.
So much more optimistic. We can go to Paris in a fortnight as long as we make radical changes NOW, IMMEDIATELY, WITHOUT FAIL.
Oh yes, and as long as we don’t do anything that looks like panic.