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Wales Online
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Ben James

Welsh voices go missing as ref mic reveals worrying silence amid the implosion

One by one, it dawns on the Welsh players. George North seems to be the first to notice.

The Welsh centre's head drops into his hands. A Georgian free-kick from the lineout after the clock has gone red signals the last chance at escape.

Escape from humiliation, ignominy, infamy, whatever you want to call it. Welsh fans realise it too, filing out of the stadium as fast as you can possibly trudge in equal parts disappointment and disbelief.

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One young fan, carried by his dad, looks crestfallen. He didn't know the dark days of the 1990s, but he soon might.

Sure enough, all in Welsh jerseys are soon looking around as reality sets in, like lost children at a supermarket. How they got there is a calculation still in its infancy within their heads.

There is still some half-hearted fight to avoid that humiliation. Adam Beard remonstrates with the official over the free-kick, telling the referee: "You've said nothing to us before now."

It's a moot point. The ball goes off the park, sparking scenes of unspeakable joy for those in white jerseys.

Behind the press box, Georgian fans are moved to the brink of tears, while those on the pitch aren't a million miles from it either. All the while, the same question hangs over the Welsh players: just how did it come to this? The nadir at a time when low points have been met more and more recently.

Perhaps the writing was on the wall when Bob Marley's Three Little Birds rang around the stadium after 20 minutes. Wales were 3-0 down at the time, with "don't worry about a thing" echoing around. More so in the second half, when fans sang along to Living on a Prayer. Quite apt in the circumstances.

From the off, Georgia cheered every decision in their favour with the fervour of a World Cup victory. That is to be expected from a side continuously playing for the right to be accepted at the top table of the rugby world.

Wales, though, for a while, did enough right. "Set the tone," cried out a Welsh voice before the first scrum of the game and, for a while, they were on top there. "That's the one, f**k me," called out a Welsh voice after they drove Georgia off their own feed. "F**k me, that was it." And, for a while, it was.

The two sets of half-backs enjoyed different rides for much of the first half as Wales dominated territory and the collision. While Tomos Williams glanced back at Rhys Priestland with a wry smile after a delightful touch-finder, Georgian scrum-half Vasil Lobzhanidze gave more scornful looks to fly-half Tedo Abzhandadze than a bickering married couple. Whenever Abzhandadze opted for a short touch-finder during a kicking battle or threw a hospital pass, Lobzhanidze could be seen either slapping his leg or putting his head in his hands in frustration.

For 20 or so minutes, Wales were sucking the confidence from Georgia and the frustration was growing. Growing on both sides, though, as Wales failed to take the next step of turning pressure into points. The longer that went on, the shakier Wales got, and the more Georgia believed.

Soon, Lobzhanidze and Abzhandadze were no longer heading for divorce, as their influence grew and so did their confidence. As every minute passed, each Georgian collision, scrum, ruck, high ball or penalty won was met with a growing chorus of cheers from those in white.

As for Wales, suddenly in an arm wrestle, things got desperate. As Georgia started to keep hold of the ball for longer periods, Wales began calling for more decisions to go in their favour. "Off his feet, ref," was a regular call as the visitors inched their way back into the game.

When Abzhandadze was handed the chance to put them in front, his effort sailed agonisingly wide. The stadium scoreboard, rather than remain at 12-10, somehow switched to 15-10 in Wales' favour. Wishful thinking on the part of whoever was in charge of that. Yet, Georgia believed. As their cheers got louder, Welsh impetus declined and senior voices grew silent.

Debutant Dafydd Jenkins tried his best to rally the troops with cries of "come on, come on" late in proceedings, but the tide had turned.

When Georgia took the lead through the boot of Luka Matkava, few could scarcely believe it. Some fans booed the kicker, others shushed those booing. Either way, it wasn't silent when the kick was taken. It mattered little, with Georgian players celebrating wildly once it sailed over.

There was time, still, with Wales being handed an attacking scrum with 90 seconds left. "This is the big one," called out a Welsh voice. It wasn't, driven off their own ball once more. And with that, it all dawned on the Welsh players, one by one.

Read more:

The full transcript of Wayne Pivac's tense press conference as job now on the line

Wayne Pivac refusing to give up and says Wales future is 'a question for others'

Shambolic Wales humiliated by Georgia as Wayne Pivac's reign now facing serious questions

Shaun Edwards decides future, reveals England meeting and is open to Wales return

The disastrous Wales player ratings on team's darkest day against Georgia

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