Even now the memories of Wales’ fateful World Cup warm-up match against Italy in 2015 are still clear — Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Webb leaving the field with major injuries, their hopes of appearing on the global stage that year finished.
Gloom duly took centre stage.
“There was no sign of anyone in Wales under-reacting to the situation,” said one observer.
You felt acutely for Halfpenny and Webb, who had trained so hard for the tournament.
But such things happen in sport and the unfortunate certainty is that fate will turn against others in the run-up to the campaign in Japan this autumn.
Every coach will know as much, but players need game-fitness and so warm-up matches are essential.
Wales have four such encounters this year, home and away tussles against England and Ireland, and all Warren Gatland will be able to do is keep his fingers, toes and everything else crossed.
But who are the players he could least afford to lose?
Mark Orders gives his personal view, ranking them in order of importance to Wales’ World Cup cause...
7. DAN BIGGAR
There was a temptation to put Gareth Anscombe in here. He had a fine Six Nations, keeping his nerve when it mattered to guide Wales home against Ireland in Cardiff. Anscombe’s goal-kicking in the rain that day was magnificent.
But let’s not forget what Biggar gives Wales.
His outings off the bench against France and England in the Six Nations underlined yet again how much of a competitors he still is. Against England, he played key roles in Wales’ two tries, caught a number of high kicks and came up with one extraordinary clearance under pressure, mopping up and hoofing the ball miles after a kick from Gareth Davies had been charged down in Wales’ 22.
What he brings off the field matters, too and will be important with the team away for weeks out in the far east.
He is a galvanising presence who sets the bar high with his ultra-competitive attitude.
"He is world class, a great competitor who expects high standards from all the team,” enthused Northampton boss Chris Boyd recently.
The No. 10 will never please all his critics.
But few can doubt his influence.
If Biggar were ruled out for whatever reason, Warren Gatland would miss him.
6. TAULUPE FALETAU
Another whose inclusion on this list might result in some eyebrows being raised, especially as Wales have just won a Grand Slam without him.
But here’s the deal: If Wales are to win the World Cup they need their best players on the field and Faletau is one of those elite stars.
Accepted, injuries have stacked up since his move to Bath.
But when he is fit and firing he is one of the best players in his position in the game.
Not for nothing did Will Greenwood once write of him: "Faletau is a rock star.
"Error free in heavy-duty contact areas. Such deft hands when he needs them, makes big hits and competes well."
Against the very best, Wales need those qualities.
Faletau has to come back in.
5. LIAM WILLIAMS
Wales have no shortage of quality back-three operators but Williams has huge plus points with his running from deep, fearlessness, aggression, courage and ability to soar high into air.
What a player he has become.
His afraid-of-nothing outlook is inspirational, but he has also matured and when Wales defeated England in February his reading of play helped defuse the opposition’s kicking game.
It is his sheer mix of qualities that makes him unique.
But everything is underpinned by sheer guts.
It is probably an exaggeration to argue that had he been wearing navy blue at the battle of Little Bighorn, the 7th Cavalry might have made it home for tea.
Then again...
Wales' other back three players are hugely important and influential, but Williams has become close to irreplaceable.
4. JUSTIN TIPURIC
Again, he plays in an area where Wales have deep reserves of talent, with the likes of Josh Navidi, James Davies, Thomas Young and, if fit, Ellis Jenkins all capable of doing a job at openside.
But Tipuric’s importance is still hard to exaggerate.
In many ways, he was the unsung idol of this year’s Grand Slam campaign, averaging close on 17 tackles a game and missing just two over the tournament. In the final seconds against France, with Wales hanging on, their No. 7 appeared to have sneaked a twin onto the field, so many hits did he put in, many of their vital affairs.
Team-mates feel secure when Tipuric is in the defensive line.
Those who feature alongside him see him as a players’ player, someone who always puts the team first, and his ability to organise and think his way through matches proved vital to Wales winning the Slam.
He can still do the flashy stuff but he complements it with grit, technique and brain, the complete openside.
He's developed into a Gatland must.
3. JONATHAN DAVIES
The Scarlet is another master organiser whose ability to snare opposition ball carriers in defensive traps is invaluable to Wales.
Watch him in the backline when rival teams are attacking.
Davies avoids ball-watching, preferring instead to scan to see where threats are likely to come from. He has an awareness about him that can close down opposition thrusts in their infancy.
No centre does it better.
The bigger the game, the better the Lions 2017 man of the series plays.
In Hadleigh Parkes, Owen Watkin and Scott Williams, Wales have three other fine midfield options.
But Davies will be the first name down on the sheet when it comes to drawing up the trio of centres who will head for Japan.
2. KEN OWENS
There may be hookers in world rugby who stand out more than Owens, either with their flash skills in the loose (that would be you, Dane Coles) or their extraordinary talents at the breakdown (take a bow, Malcolm Marx).
But is hard to think of a player in the middle-of-the-front-row position with a bigger heart than the Scarlet.
When the going gets tough, he gets going.
He brings power and forces to his carries, hits hard in the tackle and has the ability and toughness to take a knock.
He also has an iron will and a hunger for victory.
Owens is one of the Welsh team’s leaders and a player of immense importance to Gatland.
May be unsung, but definitely one of those you'd really miss if he were not there.
1. ALUN WYN JONES
There is a view that no-one is indispensable in any career.
And it is an argument that has some merit.
But Alun Wyn Jones Jones tests it to the limit.
His play alone would be enough to do so, with the 33-year-old a clattering, driving and unyielding presence in all areas, but it is his leadership that truly sets him apart.
Think the England game in the Six Nations when his captaincy tilted the match Wales’ way. Recall the final seconds against Ireland when he insisted Wales’ players tried to charge the Irish conversion despite the team leading 25-5 at the time. That is captaincy of the highest order.
Jones should have gone off after 10 minutes in that game because of a knee injury, but there was zero chance of Wales’ skipper leaving the field.
He set the on-pitch tone during that Slam campaign and cut an inspiring presence of the field as well.
Wales’ greatest player of the professional era? Some would argue that’s an open-and-shut case.
Invaluable to the cause? Totally.
Years from now people will say they were fortunate enough to watch him play.
There is surely no argument about his right to be considered the player Wales can least afford to lose in the coming months.
