As Warren Gatland emerged from the Stade de France tunnel ahead of kick-off on Friday night, the unmistakable guitar riff of the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive began to play over the stadium sound system.
Perhaps not an intentional jjbe at the current state of Welsh rugby, but it was almost uncanny how the beat of the iconic number matched with the Wales coach's strides onto the turf.
This was no Travolta strut, however, nor the trudge of a man already resigned to a defeat that even his side's most passionate supporters had taken as a given. As he made his way across to his team, Gatland looked resolved and trusting trusting that his players would give everything to take Barry, Robin and Maurice's lead and put up a fight to stay in the contest.
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To Wales' credit, they showed plenty of fight, with a committed defensive display and captain Jac Morgan, Gareth Thomas and young Tom Rogers among those putting in huge individual efforts around the park. But the reality is the gulf between the two sides meant this was never really a contest, with the game decided after half an hour and France - who were not even at their best - running in seven tries as the visitors' total lack of ideas saw them fail to register a single point for the first time in a competitive match since 2007.
The scoreline tells a brutal story, but not all that went on in Paris - positive or negative - was picked up by the TV cameras. Here's what those at home might have missed.
Devastated star carried down tunnel
As the first exchanges played out on the cold, wet Parisian evening, the home crowd's chants of Allez Les Bleus felt more like taunts as they bayed for blood and urged their team to throw the first punch of the contest.
Fabian Galthie's side obliged almost immediately as Antoine Dupont took a quick tap and punctured a hole in the Welsh defence, with Aaron Wainwright the unlucky recipient of a bloodied face as he helped to keep the scrum-half at bay.
As he made his way off the field while stemming the flow of claret from his cheek, a telling look to the sidelines suggested he would not make it back on to the pitch. He did not.
It would get worse for Wales before half-time as a pile of bodies was carefully unpicked to reveal a grimacing Owen Watkin at the base. Worringly, that grimace had begun before he had hit the ground, having seemingly suffered a season-ending knee injury.
If Wainwright's premature departure was the opening jab, Watkin's felt near enough a suckerpunch, with his teammates visibly gutted to watch the centre slowly hobble off the field.
Helped by Christ Tshiunza, he made his way to the entrance to the tunnel before stopping, seemingly overcome with pain or emotion, or both. Staring at the route that lay ahead of him, he rested his hand on Tshiunza's shoulder before turning to face him, knowing he couldn't continue on his own.
The obliging Chiefs man wasted no time in offering his towering frame as transport, as he gave Watkin a piggyback down the tunnel in one of the more touching moments of Friday's match.
When the Ospreys centre emerged at the full-time whistle, it was with the help of crutches, but he also had his teammates to lean on as a group including Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams and Kieron Assiratti stood on the touchline with him, offering hugs and supportive words.
While Liam Williams also hobbled through parts of the second half and Tom Rogers began to feel the effects of his efforts, the rest of the team appeared to make it through unscathed.
Whether the same can be said for the coaches is another matter, with a visibly disappointed Adam Jones appearing to walk with a heavy limp as he made his way down the tunnel at full-time.
Williams on a mission
Leading up to the tournament, the return of Liam Williams and Josh Adams has been hailed as a potential difference-maker for Wales, with the pair bringing in much-needed experience of not just playing, but winning at Test level.
Starved of opportunities with ball in hand, both men, let's be frank, fell short of expectations. But while they couldn't help in getting points on the board, they still made sure they had an impact on the team as they helped to rally those less experienced.
Williams and George North have both previously called out their younger teammates for not speaking up in team meetings and the Saracens man looked as though he was on a one-man mission to ensure things did not fall quiet on the pitch on the Friday night.
From the word go, the full-back made sure he was in everyone's ear, taking every opportunity to get around his younger teammates to share guidance, prop their chin up or give them a clip around the head if they needed it.
In the first half, he looked like a man who knew what the occasion required. After an early French attack was thwarted, he turned to face the wall of noise that stretched skywards in front of him, hands on hips, unperturbed. Bring it on, he looked to say, as those around him looked to him.
Of course, that sort of brash confidence can only do so much in a mismatch like this was - but Williams showed glimpses of what kind of leadership he can bring to this transitioning team.
Adams too, though more isolated out on the far flanks, also made sure his voice was heard by teammates and officials alike as he was seen guiding Rogers through the early stages, before later pulling touch judge Andrea Piardi to one side later on to make his feelings clear on more than one decision. A moment of petulance with referee Paul Williams was a step too far, though, even if he had a point over a missed high tackle.
Dupont leaves Wales at a loss
He is rugby's biggest rockstar and Antoine Dupont was given fitting treatment by the home crowd as he swaggered his way through the warm-up, the decibel levels spiking whenever his name was uttered by the stadium announcer.
All those inside the Stade de France asked was for a rockstar performance to match and they weren't left disappointed as the scrum-half tore Wales apart on his Six Nations return, setting up three tries in sensational fashion.
After he darted through the Welsh defence to set up Theo Attissogbo for his second score and those in red regrouped under the sticks for the third time in 15 minutes, a stunned Henry Thomas surveyed the scene from afar, hands on hips, catching his breath while at a loss.
You didn't have to be a body language expert to decipher it was a stance that said: "How the hell do we stop this guy?". And understandably so.
Few players in any sport command the respect Dupont currently does and, as he was taken off just before the 50 minute mark, he left the field to applause from both sets of fans and both sides of the press box. Fantastique.
