And so, Wales' autumn came to this.
Somewhat fittingly, those in the starring roles were the same as had been the case a decade prior.
Kurtley Beale was the thief that day, Rhys Priestland one of many heroic losers. It seemed this would be another agonising Welsh defeat.
The prophecy was fulfilling itself once again. As Wales pushed to break the curse, every sinew was stretched.
Willis Halaholo could only roll towards the touchline injured as Wales marched up the pitch. When it became apparent the game was there to be won, he limped forward to take his place in the backline.
Up went the referee's arm. One last chance for Wales to win this.
Beyond the nervous celebrations of Wales' forwards, Josh Adams and Nick Tompkins raged incandescently that the ball didn't escape the clutches of the ruck for a near-certain try out wide. In their minds, victory should already be assured.
Eventually, the winger calmed things down a bit, realising Wales still had a shot to win it.
Step forward Priestland. The heroic loser now cast as the thief in the night.
As he struck the penalty towards the posts, a single voice exclaimed "Nailed it" before the crowd erupted and the fly-half let out a cathartic fist-pump.
As the dust settled, all Beale could do was look up into the Cardiff stands, having never played this role before.
Long before the final act, tempers flared in a controversial encounter.
Not from Dan Biggar, though. Wales starting fly-half was calmness personified as others lost their heads - putting his arms around Welsh team-mates and even giving Liam Williams an enthusiastic slap to the shoulder after one touch-finder.
There were moments where he led from the front - enjoying his interactions with referee Mike Adamson far more than he did with Nic Berry last weekend.
After Adams was tugged down illegally, Biggar raised the prospect of more punishment
"Is that a yellow? We're pretty much away if he doesn't grab him?" queried Biggar.
"It wasn't dangerous," was the response he got.
"No, it wasn't dangerous," chimed Biggar in polite agreement. "It's more about the opportunity."
After Australia had hit back with a second-half try, Biggar's leadership - subtle enough to sow seeds without severing ties - came to the fore.
After Ben Carter had given him some feedback on potential foul play, the fly-half stepped up to the official.
"Totally up to you, the boys have said they've been hit on the floor," he calmly enquired. "If it's worth the TMO having a look?"
Even when he wasn't the one making the point, he was certainly originating it.
In the aftermath of Nick Tompkins' controversial try, when the awarding of the score was still in the balance, Biggar took one look at the big screen, gestured a backwards slap with his hands, whispered something to captain Ellis Jenkins to tell the official and then slapped his skipper on the shoulders to send him on his way.
Down the other end of the field, Tompkins simply shook his head as he bent down - perhaps taking in one of the most bizarre tries he'll ever score.
Contrast that to Australia captain James Slipper's reaction to the decision.
"You're allowed to slap it back?" he asked incredulously.
"Well that's cynical, mate. That's just killing the game."
As the Wallabies lost their heads at times, Wales largely kept theirs.
"It's the same again, ref," bemoaned Tomos Williams after another Wallaby penalty-and-scuffle combination.
And Nic White, the Australian scrum-half, was one such player who seemingly took umbrage with the existence of everything that crossed his path.
"Have a look at it, I was taken out!" he screamed in the direction of Adamson, a mere few inches away from the officials' face.
When play came to a stop, the Wallabies half-back couldn't resist a moan to anyone who would listen.
Up stepped Biggar with a sympathetic ear.
Listening to the complaints of White and the Wallabies' water carrier with a half-smile on his face, he protested "We're talking, we're talking" when Adamson tried to usher him away.
That wasn't White's only gripe throughout the 80 minutes. There's likely an old wife's tale that if the mustachioed man doesn't find annoyance in something, it likely never happened.
"F**k me, how can we do anything when they're sealing?" he uttered on one occasion.
On another occasion, he threw his bottle to the ground after Andrew Kellaway was penalised for taking Adams out in the air.
Calling the assistant referee over from his touchline, it's likely he wasn't having a pleasant conversation about post-match dinner plans - although his gesture of a phone with his hand to the official was more than a touch confusing.
Behind him, that pesky water carrier - the latest pantomime villain in rugby - was using his best miming skills to call for a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on by Ellis Jenkins.
Unfortunately for the man with the bottles, that call was redundant thanks to Kellaway's earlier infringement.
Adams, to his credit, ensured that Kellaway's misread wouldn't go unpunished.
Having been penalised for something similar against New Zealand, the winger was immediately on the front-foot.
"Remember me against New Zealand?" he protested to Adamson.
"Remember that clip? That's what he's done to me!"
Skipper Jenkins chucked in an extra "It happened against New Zealand" in there for good measure - just to make sure.
Wales clearly weren't totally perfect when it came to staying on the right side of the officials.
Gareth Thomas' lazy clearout on Allan Alaalatoa could, and probably should, have been a different colour.
Aggrieved team-mate Will Skelton certainly felt that way.
"You f*****g dog c***," he shouted at the Wales prop as he rose to his feet in confrontation.
"Let's have a look at the video ref, let's have a look at the TMO you c***."
It was a phrase that, obscene expletives aside, perhaps ironically summed up the niggly nature of the first 78 or so minutes.
And then, the final act happened, and history didn't repeat itself.
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