It is just four months since Wales lost 264 caps’ worth of Test experience in a single day and yet, somehow, they have overcome that disastrous preparation to become the first team to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Warren Gatland’s magic touch seemed absent on his return as Wales coach during a disastrous Six Nations campaign marred by strike threats, a record defeat by Scotland and a regional game on the brink of collapse. When Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric then retired on the same day midway through the World Cup buildup, it seemed that Welsh rugby was staring into the abyss.
