Amid Wales’ 23-19 Six Nations defeat to England at Twickenham, by far their biggest problem area was the breakdown.
It was there they conceded the majority of the 13 penalties awarded against them, enabling Marcus Smith to kick the points that ultimately proved decisive.
So what exactly went wrong and how can it be addressed?
Rugby correspondent Simon Thomas has pored over the tape in search of some answers.
Here is what he has discovered as he breaks down the breakdown, looking at each Welsh offence in detail. You can read the unheard conversations with the referee that drove Wales mad here.
73 seconds - Holding On
Wales had survived immediate England pressure from the kick-off and countered off a tap penalty from near their own line with Alex Cuthbert being launched on the first of his numerous runs. The wing made decent ground and, when he was brought down, the initial clear out was good, with Ross Moriarty removing Luke Cowan-Dickie.
But the second England man in was the one who did the damage, with Maro Itoje jackaling over the prone Cuthbert to earn a “holding on” penalty before Ryan Elias arrived to dislodge him. That enabled Marcus Smith to open the scoring. 3-0.
4 mins - Sealing Off
Receiving the ball from a ruck midway inside his own half, Ross Moriarty carried into contact in the shape of England prop Ellis Genge.
As Moriarty went to ground, fellow back rower Taine Basham effectively formed a bridge over him and was pinged for sealing off by Scottish referee Mike Adamson, having prevented a fair contest as Alex Dombrant looked to get on the ball. Smith bisected the sticks again. 6-0
12 mins - Holding On
Fielding a box kick inside his own half, Alex Cuthbert looped around Liam Williams and set off on his longest run of the day, bumping off Henry Slade and getting away from Marcus Smith, bursting into the opposition 22. He was eventually halted by Freddie Steward, but it was a fantastic attacking position for Wales.
Yet they were unable to recycle possession. That was down to the work of England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie who jackaled over Cuthbert and got his mitts on the ball, surviving the attempted clear out from first Liam Williams and then Adam Beard, staying on his feet to win the relieving penalty.
To compound the situation, Wales then gave away a piggy-back penalty off the resulting kick to touch, with Moriarty being done for coming round the side as England mauled their way forward from the lineout. Two offences in quick succession and some 70 metres conceded. Having been back in their own 22, the hosts were now in the opposition one.
15 mins - Not Rolling Away
After a darting run from Marcus Smith, his Harlequins team-mate Alex Dombrandt maintained the momentum by charging forward. He was brought down by Moriarty, but the Wales No 6 fell on the wrong side after making the tackle and didn’t manage to extricate himself, so was penalised for not rolling away by referee Adamson. But, this time, fly-half Smith was off target from some 35 metres out.
20 mins - Handling In The Ruck
As the hosts pile on the pressure, lock Charlie Ewels goes for the line, but is brought down just short and Liam Williams swoops in to prevent him getting the ball down over the whitewash.
But, as a couple of England forwards arrive and look to pick and drive to the line, Williams sticks a hand out and dislodges the ball from the grasp of Luke Cowan-Dickie by knocking his arm.
Having reviewed the incident with his TMO Brian McNeice, Adamson rules the Welsh full-back was off his feet interfering with play at the ruck, so it’s a yellow card.
29 mins - Off Feet
It looked as though Wales were going to survive the 10-minute sin bin period without conceding any points. But then, just as Williams was preparing to return to the field, they were penalised once again at the breakdown.
As Taine Basham carried the ball forward on his own 10 metre line, he was smashed back by a double hit from England flankers Tom Curry and Courtney Lawes. Will Rowlands attempted to get over Basham to enable recycling, but went off his feet with his knees hitting the deck and the penalty was awarded. Marcus Smith made no mistake this time. 9-0
40 mins - Not Rolling Away
With half-time approaching, the tireless Alex Dombrandt trucked the ball up some 40 meters out. He was brought to ground through the combined efforts of Dan Biggar and Taine Basham, but openside Basham fell on the wrong side and despite his wriggling efforts didn’t manage to satisfy referee Adamson who signalled a penalty advantage.
England kept on attacking and made their way deep into the Welsh 22. Yet again, it was Dombrandt who made a big carry. He was felled by Biggar and Ross Moriarty, but once more the visitors were pinged for not rolling away, with Moriarty the culprit as he prevented scrum-half Harry Randall getting hands on the ball. Marcus Smith landed what was the final kick of the half. H-T: 12-0
50 mins - An England Steal and then Wales Holding On
Wales are now trailing 17-0 after the contentious Dombrandt try and desperately trying to respond. They pile on the pressure in the England 22, but replacement loosehead Gareth Thomas doesn't see Taine Basham free outside him and after taking contact he is stripped of the ball by Itoje, who pulls off the steal before the first supporting Welsh forward, Adam Beard, arrives on the scene. That enables Harry Randall to kick to touch.
From the resulting lineout, Wales launch another attack midway inside the England half, but as Ospreys lock Beard is tackled to the ground by Sam Simmonds, in swoops that man Dombrandt. He jackals over Beard and clamps himself on the ball in textbook fashion, with props Tomas Francis and Gareth Thomas unable to shift him. It’s a penalty against the visitors for holding on.
67 mins - Holding On
Wayne Pivac’s men are right back in it at 17-12 following tries from Josh Adams and Nick Tompkins. Now they are on the attack again as Cuthbert burst out from his own 22.
But he is brought down from behind by Ben Youngs and that’s the cue for Jack Nowell to pounce. He gets over his former Exeter team-mate and latches on to the ball before the first Welsh player - Beard - arrives at the breakdown to try and shift him.
Adamson rules there’s a clear lift of the ball from Nowell and awards the penalty for holding on, with Smith slotting the kick to provide some breathing space. 20-12.
71 mins - Not a breakdown offence here, but rather two successive set-piece indiscretions, first at the scrum and then at the resulting lineout, with Beard penalised for contact on the arm of the airborne Nick Isiekwe. Smith knocks over the kick. 23-12.
84 mins - England Turnover Steal
A Kieran Hardy tap and go try has cut the deficit to four points and Wales have one last chance to turn the game on it’s head when Courtney Lawes is penalised for a deliberate knock on.
Amid a frantic final passage of play, they make it up to the English ten metre line. But as Gareth Thomas is tackled to the deck, the man on hand to provide the clear-out, fellow replacement prop Leon Brown, loses his footing and that enables Maro Itoje to rip the ball from Thomas’ grasp and secure the turnover, holding on as Seb Davies tries to remove him and then coming away in possession.
That’s that and it’s somehow fitting that the final decisive moment of the game should see England prevailing at the breakdown.
F-T: 23-19
Conclusion
Well, looking through the tape, it’s apparent there were a series of issues for Wales.
With the ball, there was either a failure to get to the breakdown ahead of the first man in white, leaving the carrier isolated, or an inability to effectively clear out.
You had supporting Welsh players offending by sealing off the contest or going off their feet and when they did come in legally there were other occasions when they were unable to shift the jackaling defender, just lacking the required physicality and technique in the contact.
Then, when in defence, they were repeatedly pinged for failing to roll away after falling on the wrong side in the tackle, not learning despite referee Adamson being particularly hot on that issue.
You also had Liam Williams being unable to resist having an illegal grab for the ball on his own line, earning ten minutes in the sin-bin as his punishment.
So where do Wales go from here?
Well, obviously there is a lot of work to be done at the breakdown ahead of the France game.
Discipline in defence needs to improve and the clear-out needs to be much better in terms of getting to the contact area quicker in numbers and effectively shifting opposition bodies.
Unfortunately, the man who is pretty much unrivalled when it comes to the clear-out, Josh Navidi, hasn’t played since dislocating his shoulder in early October.
He could possibly return for Cardiff out in Ulster on Friday night, but it would be asking a huge amount to throw him straight in against the mighty French.
In terms of other personnel options, there could be a case for starting with Jac Morgan, who showed up pretty well at Twickenham after coming on as a sub on 55 minutes.
He provides a real physical presence over the ball and is particularly adept as a defensive jackal, while he looks to be ahead of Ellis Jenkins in Pivac’s pecking order on the openside.
Scotland new boy Rory Darge had a fair bit of joy at the breakdown against France and Morgan is a similar type of player.
So there may be a case for starting with the Ospreys flanker, with either Moriarty or Basham making way, following Taulupe Faletau’s immense display at the weekend.
But it’s very much a collective effort at the breakdown and there will have to be a real focus on sharpening up that area over the next week or so.
If you lose that department of the game to the French, it’s likely to be a grim old night given the attacking flair they possess.
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