You knew the red card was coming.
From the moment they went to the TMO to check on Jacob Beetham's misjudged high tackle on Baptiste Germaine, you knew a card would be coming from the pocket of Karl Dickson and you knew what colour it would be.
What you couldn't have predicted - what no one could have seen coming - was the reaction of the Arms Park crowd to the young 20-year-old debutant.
As he trudged off the pitch, the Cardiff crowd offered a warm ovation to the disappointed youngster. Hardly the done thing, but it was a fitting gesture.
"It was slightly surreal," admitted Gruff Rees, Cardiff's academy manager and the man who took charge of Cardiff's mix-and-match side in their Champions Cup opener last Saturday.
"That was a real recognition of the effort he'd put in. It was about enjoying that moment."
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More than 10,000 fans piled into the Arms Park intent on being part of an afternoon which went beyond the familiar facets of professional sport; winning, losing, the means to the end. Instead, they went on the promise of something intangible, drinking in the romanticism of their club defying the odds to field a side against the European champions and the warm glow that brought.
They all left the Arms Park with smiles plastered on their faces. Their cobbled-together side had held their own against the might and magic of Antoine Dupont and Co.
And some, like Beetham, had even thrived at times. The Wales Under-20s full-back looked to the manor born in his first appearance at senior level.
With one of Dai Young's current full-back options, Hallam Amos, hanging up his boots at the end of the season to pursue a career in medicine, those in attendance on Saturday, beyond that fuzzy feeling which came with being a part of a special occasion, might just have witnessed the emergence of the 25-cap Wales international's successor.
For those who know the Brecon-born Beetham, the relative ease with which he took to proceedings on Saturday was not a surprise.
"You're proud to see it as you think he can flourish in this environment and the proof was in the pudding," added Rees, who has worked with Beetham in his role as academy manager.
"He's a success from the pathway. Knowing him from my usual role, we didn't contract him until he was 18+, which is a strong message nowadays when people at 16 or 17 chase it then get that sense of entitlement.
"But he worked really hard behind the scenes, put in a lot of time at Cardiff and Vale College, played for Glamorgan Wanderers.
"Then he had some exposure with Wales U20s and has been slowly integrated into what we do here on a professional basis from academy to seniors.
"But he hasn't had it all his own way. It's not been an easy path. He's had to work every day to try and be better and improve himself. He's done that."
Ioan Cunningham, who coached Beetham at Wales U20s level, also wasn't taken aback with how he went against the French giants.
"He's got the athletic ability to do it at this level," Cunningham said.
"He's big, strong and he reads the game well to put him in good positions. I was pleased for him and delighted to see how it went for him. It's great to see how he showcased his ability.
"He's a very talented player. Crucially, he can cover fly-half as well as 15 if he needs to.
"He's got a real good skill set, can kick really well, and he's big, athletic and deceivingly quick.
"I found his whole attitude brilliant when I coached him. He's open to learn, thirsty for knowledge and desperate to get better.
"He's perhaps a little quiet in the environment to be honest and he keeps himself to himself. But, he's diligent and does his work.
"To be honest, last year's U20s programme was critical to him in terms of his future. Then this year, he was one of the first names on the team sheet. The growth in confidence and self-belief in that 12-month period was big. It's great to see him progress and kick on."
Starting in the back-three alongside fellow Cardiff academy product Theo Cabango, Beetham would have been forgiven for being overawed by an opposition backline starring Dupont, Romaine Ntamack and Maxime Medard.
However, he did not look out of place, even if the frantic nature of the game did make the step-up to the professional level even greater than it usually would have been.
"Some of his positional sense was excellent," added Rees.
"Parts of his kicking game is wonderful. It's something as a coach you're looking for - a full-back who can kick 50 or 60 metres. That's going to help with winning kicking battles.
"Those are things that are going to lend themselves to the professional game anyway.
"But, even with the red card, he'd put in more metres than anyone else on the pitch. A lot of high-speed metres.
"He was out on his feet five minutes before half-time, which caused some concern in the coaching box, but he had to get through that, knowing that he'd never dealt with this level of duress before.
"We got through half time and he went again. You could hear him on the ref mic, talking.
"That's the great thing. Seeing him adapt to Premiership rugby with their communication and then take it to the pro level is something he should be pleased about."
Beetham's skill at reading of the game is something which comes through from speaking to Cunningham. During his time with Wales U20s, he played full-back while Sam Costelow ran the show at fly-half.
It provided his side with a nice balance, with Beetham's ability as a playmaker allowing the mercurial Costelow to act as a running threat at times, while Beetham's knowledge of fly-half play also helped on the other side of the ball too.
"Playing with Sam, we had a nice balance - particularly with those rucks just off the middle of the field where he could step up as first-receiver on the short-side," added Cunningham.
"He can see space in the backfield and kick well to find it, running that short-side for us. He's a good kicker at goal from distance. He's got a lot of tools in his toolbox.
"If you speak to anyone who can play full-back and fly-half, you can understand what the 10 is looking at. He's looking for spaces to put that ball.
"As a full-back who can play 10, you identify that sooner. It works the other way. If he plays 10 now, he'll know what the 15 is looking to do."
Understandably based on last Saturday's performance, where the former Builth Wells High School student's booming boot captured the eye as did his all-round performance, those who have dealt with him closely believe he has a future at this level.
There are work-ons, naturally, though.
"With Jacob, it's about developing the subtlety of his kicking game," added Rees.
"It's also about backing himself. When he got over his nerves a bit, he got on the ball. He's a rangy runner and can beat people. It's about knowing when and where to make decisions and he's starting to show some maturity there."
But both Rees and Cunningham seem certain he has the goods. Both believe playing regularly for Cardiff should be the next target. Beyond that, who knows?
"As a young player, self-belief and the ability to enjoy the aerial and physical battles will be his challenge moving forward," said Cunningham.
"But he's certainly got the ability to play regional rugby on a regular basis as well as possibly kicking on to further honours in the future."
Even with the red card blotting the copybook ever so slightly, it is telling where Beetham's head went to next.
"Jacob is pretty sharp about these things and is a bit of a worrier so he was first thinking about whether he'd miss next week [against Harlequins]," added Rees.
"However, once he knew he would miss it, he's good enough to park that and think about the next thing, which is doing this again.
"That's the big thing. He's had a taste of it and now it's about how and what he does to get back into the senior group with Dai."
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