Just as the wave of hope was cresting, it breaks against this. Yet again, keeping 22 human bodies intact between Tuesday and Saturday, proves beyond the power of Welsh Rugby.
The loss of Henson probably has more psychological impact on the team than anything; Roberts and Shanklin are no mugs. But with Hook on the bench, the Welsh backline suddenly looks a far blunter instrument.
Which is frustrating, because I was going to echo Jerry Guscott's words about how Wales are running out of excuses. Grand Slam champions should be feared on their own turf - regardless of history, no team shoud turn up at the Millennium Stadium and be expected to win, as South Africa widely are.
Ah, but that history... One win in over a century, ten games ago - it's a record that validates all that media skepticism. The recieved wisdom is that - world-class players notwithstanding - we just don't have the bottle.
It's well past time to put that to bed, so excuses be damned. Wales may not be at full-strength tomorrow - no team shorn of the likes Henson, Mike Phillips, Jon Thomas, Huw Bennett and Mark Jones can seriously be called that - but it's no "second string" either, and the visitors have squad issues of their own (and on top of them, they've had the cheek to pick talismanic captain Jon Smit out of position, which seems rather like to picking Superman to drive the Batmobile).
It's still World Champions against European Champions, and Saturday's hosts must live up to that billing. They must prove what we, as their supporters, suspect but perhaps don't quite yet believe - that the spring was not a lonely season, and that this time, Wales are the Real Deal.
