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Of all the many matches of rugby that Wales have played over the years, the clash with the Barbarians in a sweltering Twickenham was certainly one of them.
What more can you say beyond that? It’s difficult to know. There was always the sense that this match didn’t seem to hold a great deal of value.
That’s the risk with these games. Nobody really places value in them – until you lose.
And sure, Wales need to shake off some rust ahead of next weekend’s game against Fiji. But confidence remains so brittle in the Welsh game that any fixture like this – uncapped or not – seems as likely to prove a setback as it might be productive.
In fairness, nobody knew there’d be a heatwave when this match was organised.
But the heat undeniably took the sting out of this one.
Pushing 30 degrees in TW2, it was a broken affair – with the conditions making it even more low-key than you’d expect. It was scrappy at times, with little chance for the game to flow.
Prior to kick-off, you had the sense this could be a fairly un-Barbarians affair.
Wales are simply looking to build confidence and momentum ahead of that Fiji game, having beaten Italy at the end of the Six Nations.
As for the Barbarians, they picked a heavy pack and a 6-2 split.
If you were expecting “A dramatic start. What a score!” or words of that ilk, you were looking in the wrong place.
The Barbarians had the odd moment of attacking endeavour and creativity. Setting up a driving maul from a tap-and-go penalty nearly brought them a third try.
But they also looked to milk some scrum penalties. That’s not the done thing when it comes to the famous invitational club.
Jokes aside, the Baa-Baas did have their moments of making life hard for the Welsh scrum, with a few nervy moments for Dillon Lewis and Rhys Barratt either side of the break.
In particular, given Lewis will likely be the starter throughout next month, that’s an area that new scrum coach Paul James will need to get his feet under the table quickly.
Pete Murchie, in charge of defence, will have some thoughts, too.
On occasion, Wales were carved open a little too easily in the wider channels. Sides who haven’t spent the week socialising might have finished them off.
Conversely, when Wales had the ball, their attack didn’t always look as fluid as it might have.
The Ospreys half-backs – Kieran Hardy, Dan Edwards and Reuben Morgan-Williams – shared four tries. However, some of those tries were made a little easy by the Baa-Baas.
In Hardy and Edwards, Wales have two players who bring something in the red-zone, with both having an eye for the line.
But, off the bench, Sam Costelow – just as he did against Scotland in the Six Nations – seems to get the backline purring when he’s in motion behind Joe Hawkins.
Having the two fly-halves fit and working in tandem is no bad thing for Wales, given what both offer.
In the end, Wales probably got out of this one what they wanted and it was a fitting farewell for Welsh legend George North who scored two tries for the Barbarians and even landed a conversion with the last kick of the match.
Fiji, if they were watching, probably won’t have been too concerned by what they saw.
But conversely, Wales won’t be too bothered by that, either.
Jac Morgan had a quiet game. But you just know when there’s something on the line, like a Test match, that he’ll step things up a level or two.
With the crowd relatively sparse, this did have the feel of a Covid game – in terms of the on-field action as well as the off-field.
But, as long as Wales hit the ground running against the Flying Fijians next week, none of what happened in the London sun will matter all that much.
