As the dust settled on Wales' narrow defeat to England at Twickenham last week, there was an inescapable feeling that neither team were on the same level as table-topping France.
Eddie Jones appeared to think differently, of course.
"There are three teams that can win it now and we are one of those three teams," he said afterwards.
"So we've got a lot more belief than the three teams that can't win it. We're in a good position. We're in charge of our own destiny."
But those in attendance at HQ likely wouldn't be rushing to put Jones' 'new England' - which so far seems less than the sum of its parts in attack - in the same bracket as France, or even Ireland in the top tier of the Six Nations.
So, to say Wales face a step-up in quality when they welcome France to Cardiff next week might be something of a blindingly obvious statement.
Undoubtedly, the need to build upon the second-half improvements at Twickenham cannot be understated.
"You can't in Test match rugby give teams a 17-point head start," said Wales centre Jonathan Davies this week.
"It cost us and there is huge frustration about that. It's something that has been highlighted. We've given ourselves too much to do later in games."
But, for periods against England, Wales' attack looked to be running smoothly. The question is how they turn that into an 80-minute performance against the French?
To put it bluntly, if they start as slowly as they did at Twickenham, the scoreline will be considerably worse than just 17-0.
"We want to play with tempo and speed," added Davies. "With that, you have to be accurate. There were periods where we controlled the ball and it was pretty positive. We did some good stuff, but it's a results-based game and ultimately we didn't get the result.
"It's great. It's high tempo, ball in our hands. The ball is the most important thing. That's all we've wanted to do since kids. No one really wants to defend.
"It is good fun, but like I said, it's about accuracy and winning games. We can't go running up blind alleys. We have to execute what we need to."
So accuracy from the first whistle is a big imperative.
If we go back to Wales' last meeting with France, we can see what was - and probably still is - the defining performance of Wayne Pivac's time in charge.
A squad brimming with confidence heading for a Grand Slam, all pulling together in clearly defined roles in an attacking shape more sophisticated than some would give it credit for at the time.
Little wonder then that Wales went toe-to-toe with France in Paris last year, even pulling away at one point before a French red card and Wales' own indiscipline saw the home team lean into the erratic side of their game to sneak a last-gasp victory.
Heartbreaking defeat aside, there was plenty to like from that performance.
All the things we've only briefly seen glimpses off in recent weeks were a constant.
Dan Biggar was taking the ball in motion and being hidden regularly by his pack, while the clearout was immediate and effective, meaning they kept hold of possession and retained numbers on their feet.
If you watch the 14-phase move in the build-up to Josh Navidi's try, there's elements of what Wales managed to do with their tries against England on the weekend.
Those 14 phases are fast-tempo rugby, with several players across both the pack and the backline stepping into different roles. Rather than everything playing off 10, Wales vary their patterns and, as a result, tend to win collisions.
Crucially, all the not-so-glamorous work - like the clearout and decoy runs - are done time and time again. That's what allows Wales to break down Shaun Edwards' defence over the span of 14 phases.
"It's something we've always wanted to have," said Davies when asked about the attacking game that Pivac and Stephen Jones were lauded for.
"The ability of the players we have on the ball is important. There's a lot that goes into making sure we can play like that.
"We had value on those fundamentals in the game (against England) on Saturday. It's about making sure we have them for 80 minutes.
"We want to improve and play at that level and tempo. It's enjoyable for us and we feel it can help us win too."
"You've got to maintain and keep the ball for longer periods of time if you want to play with it more.
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"If you don't have correct numbers at the ruck and accuracy cleaning out, you're going to lose the ball. Sometimes it's the stuff that people don't want to do.
"If you value that, it goes a long way to keeping the ball. It's something we've spoken about. The tasks that don't really get the plaudits, that's what we have to value for everyone to flourish."
The breakdown, as always, will likely be a key area of the game.
Given France's talent around that facet of the game, there's the temptation to play conservatively - so as not to hand France opportunities in transition.
However, it's likely that, certainly within the French half, their best bet is backing ruck efficiency and holding onto possession.
"They're big heavy men. For us, it's about speed to the breakdown and not giving them opportunities for the turnover.
"When there's separation, they're quick to get their hands on the ball and they're hard to move off it. It's about not giving them the pictures they want to see and negating the threat before it happens."
When Wales do choose to kick, they'll almost certainly go to the air and kick to compete.
That's been the 'out' for this Welsh side for some time, with Finn Russell's loose kick-and-chase last week likely only solidifying the idea that kicking to compete is the best strategy with the boot.
However, one feature that Wales used to great effect last year against France - and something they should look to do again this year - is using a back-rower as a secondary chaser.
Last year, it was Justin Tipuric doing that role. Obviously he's not there, but there's no reason why Jac Morgan, Taine Basham or Josh Navidi, if he's called up, couldn't do similar.
Not only would it potentially close down any chance of French counter-attacking, but, if Wales' genuine world-class aerial talents like Biggar and Liam Williams do win the ball, the presence of a back-row on the scene should help secure possession and play quickly against an unsettled defence.
Once in the red zone, Wales seem far happier to play off nine than they do around midfield - where they largely play off 10. And, as seen against England, when they do that, they appear to have more about them in attack.
If kicking to compete is Wales' best chance of reaching those areas of the pitch, then a back-row escort on the chase makes sense.
Elsewhere in the game, little things will need to be tweaked.
Wales looked to use Tomos Williams as a conduit to getting the ball wide early last weekend - but that put pressure on the Welsh clearout and isolated the likes of Alex Cuthbert and Josh Adams.
Even if it was questionable whether Cuthbert was actually held ahead of the jackal attempt from Jack Nowell, Wales will need to be more precise when it comes to clearouts in the wide channels given the breakdown technique of French centres Jonathan Danty and Gael Fickou.
"Look, it's something that you see in wider rucks where backs have more opportunities to get on the ball and slow it down," said Davies.
"With the French centres, they've worked hard. Shaun (Edwards) used to emphasise that there's more than one way to skin a cat and slow the ball down.
"For us, it's about not giving them those pictures that they feel they can get their hands on the ball and slow it down. That's probably our focus in that area of the game."
On the other side of the ball, Wales can't afford to be passive and absorb what France are doing with ball in hand.
In this of all games, it's easy to get sucked in to the Shaun Edwards narrative - given not a day goes by when someone isn't bemoaning Welsh rugby losing him.
Wales though will solely be intent on carrying out the plan of Gethin Jenkins.
"For us, it's making sure we maintain our own identity," said Davies.
"I feel in the last two games, we've grown defensively. We've been much more comfortable slowing ball down and putting pressure on the opposition rather than absorbing it.
"For us, it's about maintaining that identity that Gethin wants us to take on."
It's certainly a tough ask, but if Wales can continue to emphasise doing the unfashionable things within camp, be aggressive in defence and lean on a few traits that worked in Paris last year and for about 20 minutes at Twickenham, then they may just be able to go toe-to-toe with this impressive French side.
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