DAN Lydiate’s World Cup dream ended in the most agonising fashion, as Wales were contoversially beaten by France in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The French edged a 9-8 victory, after Welsh captain Sam Warburton received a red card from Irish referee Alain Rolland early into proceedings at Eden Park.
Warburton was adjudged to have committed a dangerous tackle on French wing Vincent Clerc, with the end result seeing the Welsh side compete for over an hour with a one man disadvantage.
Against all the odds the 14 men of Wales dominated possession, but a succession of missed penalties from James Hook and a conversion attempt from Stephen Jones ended the Welsh dream.
The last time Wales reached a World Cup semi-final in 1987, six of the current team - Warburton, Halfpenny, George North, Jonathan Davies, Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau - were not born.
However Lydiate’s father, John, insisted the Welsh class of 2011 will bounce back from the dejection of defeat for the bronze medal match with Australia this weekend.
And Lydiate spoke of his shared horror when Warburton’s challenge yielded a red card from Rolland and all but ended the Welsh dream.
“When we watched the referee come over you knew it would be a red card because everyone knows what kind of official Rolland is,” said Lydiate at the family’s Abbey-cwm-hir farm.
“It is in his character to make a decision like that and in the end the real loser is the World Cup, because the final that we all wanted is now not going to happen.
“OK I know I am biased but I think the way Wales have played in this World Cup has made them the neutrals favourite, but because of one man the final the should have been is not going to happen.
“France were not good enough to beat a 15 man Welsh team and I am sure the final will be less of a spectacle and New Zealand will definitely win.”
Lydiate insisted the future remains bright for the Welsh team, but implored the squad to resist the hype generated by the South Wales media.
“The most important thing is that the players remain as injury free as possible but also these players must remain grounded and not listen to the hype. If they manage that then I am sure they will do well.
“There is a lot of talent coming through the ranks who will be ready for the next World Cup.”