Just under nine months ago, Liam Williams stood defiantly in Nantes, dancing to Gala's Freed From Desire as Welsh fans celebrated another victory in the baking French sunshine.
Now, as the whistle blew on a wet night in Sydney, the Wales full-back cut a more morose figure, ambling around the sidelines with his right knee strapped heavily as other tired bodies in red picked themselves up off the turf.
Owen Waktin and Nick Tompkins headed down the tunnel, both gesticulating with pointing and other hand movements to signify little things that went wrong out on the pitch.
Those dance moves in Nantes were the last time Wales basked in the warmth of victory. The post-match debriefs have become all too common in the months since.
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Having briefly brought it together for the World Cup after a disastrous start to 2023, they've once again forgotten how to get over the line - losing eight straight matches and falling out of the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time.
Of the six victories that Warren Gatland has achieved in his 20 matches back, the one that still stands out is the 40-6 hammering of Australia in Lyon. A night of knowing looks between players and coaches; even a smile from Gatland.
Against the Wallabies once again, that seems so far away. The smile is gone, the monosyllabic answers back.
The rebuild was always going to be tough, but the need to win was always going to grow and grow with each and every passing defeat.
At times, you can see it etched on the faces of the players. After putting through a 50:22 off his weak foot, Williams didn't even break into a hint of a smile.
Throughout in Sydney, Williams was driving this young Wales team on more than most. From the end of the anthem, when he ruffled an emotional Josh Hathaway's hair, to much of the on-field action, Williams was always there; doing something.
After Ben Thomas calmed his nerves with a superb first kick at goal, it was Williams who slowly walked towards him, offering just a few extra claps for that.
When Wales powered over for a penalty try in the first-half, it was Williams who ran in, grabbed the ball and marched back to halfway - leading the others in red behind him.
When Rio Dyer was penalised for offside after Ellis Bevan's knock-on, it was Williams who again strode over, took the ball and walked off - as if to make the visual point that it's done and the players need to move on to the next thing.
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Every stoppage, almost without fail, Williams was offering up something in the form of encouragement or instruction. When James Botham appeared to cross for his try, only for it to be later chalked out, Williams was one of the first rushing in to celebrate.
For his trouble, he copped an accidental headbutt from Botham as the pair collided. Having readjusted his aching jaw, he turned back to Thomas for another nugget of encouragement.
Thomas, for his own part, wasn't overawed by the Test arena in his first start in the 10 jersey. After one wayward pass flew directly into touch, he immediately turned to give Rio Dyer an earful for not being flatter.
That said, Wales' inability to stay error free was always going to have an effect. The two Wallabies fans who hit the deck while trying to catch a high ball during a half-time competition weren't alone in failing to take things cleanly - even if there were less eyes on them.
While Williams was trying to calm things down and move on from the mistakes, others cut frustrated figures. After throwing their bodies at Australian torsos, all Christ Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins could do was trudge slowly after one high ball in the back-field was spilled.
As for prop Gareth Thomas, he was left to simply puff his cheeks after Taniela Tupou ran through him at the first scrum. Come the second, the Welsh players were already pointing the fingers of blame at the Australian tight-head while the front-rows were still packed down - all to no avail.
Eventually, the pressure told - with Thomas sent to the sin-bin after one Welsh penalty too many. Even that brief respite from Tupou's scrummaging started with some confusion, with team manager Martyn Williams having to ask an official which seat the loose-head should sit on.
In the end, Thomas was left to stand there at the end, staring on from the sideline towards the swathes of red jerseys still in the stadium. Leg strapped, just like Williams, there was no dancing.
And very little in the way of smiling. The remonstrations were back. And the knowing looks, that the wait for a win goes on, were very different.
