As Wales meet up this week ahead of the upcoming tour to South Africa, there'll be a elephant in the room that needs addressing.
Actually, given the state of Welsh rugby right now, there'll likely a herd nestled in the corner. But the one that Wayne Pivac and co will need to confront stems back to Saturday, 19th March.
That was the day that Italy, winless in the Six Nations in seven years, rocked up to Cardiff and beat Wales with a dramatic last-gasp try. So yes, it might just come up in conversation at the Vale of Glamorgan this week.
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The question is how Pivac addresses it, and how Wales then move on?
That 22-21 defeat in Cardiff was the low-point of Pivac's reign to date. In terms of Welsh rugby nadirs, you're probably going back 15 years to when Wales lost to the Italians in Rome before crashing out of the World Cup in the pool stages to find the last comparable embarrassment.
Soul searching and reflection will likely be on the menu at some point - for both the coaches and the players. In terms of technical points, the game against Italy was sloppy - but it wasn't like it was a performance filled with fresh or new overarching tactical problems.
The usual issues - such as ball retention and attacking inefficiency - remained. Fixing those recurring problems that had plagued their Six Nations campaign even before the indignity of the Italy defeat will be crucial for Pivac and his coaching ticket.
Wales will struggle to win collisions on their own terms against the Springboks, putting even more pressure on their sub-par clearout work. The same can be said for their attacking proficiency, with the Boks unlikely to hand Wales too many chances.
How they address those issues in camp early on could go a long way to defining whether this tour goes reasonably well or disastrously bad. The amount of times Wales have truly got their breakdown - and attack as a consequence - firing on all cylinders under Pivac could be counted on one hand.
But make no mistake, this was a defeat largely built on complacency. "Certainly a loss to Italy was something that wasn’t in my thought process to be honest without sounding arrogant." said Pivac recently.
"I believed we were good enough, we’d done enough work, and we should have won that game. We could have won that game several times over. The fact is we didn’t so you take what comes with that, and a lot of it is justified."
Mass changes were made beforehand, but worse still was the failure to take points on offer. Granted, Wales have always treated games against Italy with a similar approach in recent years.
The result isn't exactly viewed as a formality, but changes are made and tries are chased over kickable penalties. That's nothing new.
Failing to deliver is a novelty though. At least, it had become one ever since Gareth Jenkins hopped off the bus jobless in 2007 to be replaced by Warren Gatland.
Defeat to Italy simply didn't happen for the longest time. Simply reconciling what happened earlier this year will take some doing.
“It’s probably the lowest point in most of the players’ careers in terms of pulling on the Welsh jersey and the pride they have in doing that," said Pivac in the moments after that March defeat. Restoring pride in the jersey will be top of the agenda.
Of course, arrogance isn't likely to be an issue this summer as it was in March. Wales travel to South Africa with few expecting more than a whitewash.
Given that the regions have lost 14 out of 16 meetings to South African opposition this year, including all eight played in the southern hemisphere, to an average score of 41-13, it's not surprising some are writing the epitaphs already. Granted, only 15 of the 28 Welsh-based players in Pivac's squad actually played in the away matches in South Africa this season - which does change the complexion slightly.
The mood in camp will likely be different to that outside it, with Welsh players sure to be confident they can rattle the world champions as they did in Cardiff last autumn. Such is the nature of professional players and the mindset they hold.
But, nagging doubts will also be there for players. Of the 23 that were involved against Italy, 17 will be in South Africa. Three have been ruled out injured.
It's only Seb Davies and Bradley Roberts who miss out on selection alone. Captain Dan Biggar, who will continue with the captaincy this summer despite Alun Wyn Jones' full return, admitted afterwards the defeat could signal the end for some players.
“This was simply not good enough. We have said in the huddle it’s probably the last chance for a lot of players,” he said.
“This is the most difficult post-match interview I’ve ever had to give. It was so poor to lose it from where we were. We haven’t played well all day, but to not finish it off when they are 70 metres from their own line.
“From the get-go, we weren’t quite at it and you get punished. I can’t give you a reason why. I don’t know what the answer is. Too many boys [were] not quite up to speed. We were second in any loose balls and in any balls in the air.
“It’s disappointing, something we pride ourselves on that requires no talent, but work ethic – we were well short today and that’s got to be looked at very closely.”
Pivac said recently that "robust conversations" had been had after the dust had settled. Undoubtedly, they will likely continue to be had, but the idea of final chances is something he reiterated recently.
“It’s probably the last step for a few players to show they can compete on a regular basis at this level," he said after naming his squad. "It’s probably the start of we’re not going to be tinkering too much with selection. We’ll be looking to play our strongest side now through to the World Cup and we make no apologies for that.”
That point, 15 months out from the World Cup, will likely be hammered home to the players before the plane even leaves the tarmac. Time, and opportunities, are running out before France next year.
Pivac continues to lean on Gatland's old guard, while selection remains a little too inconsistent three years into the job. Perhaps it's no surprise that he's threatening to bring the axe out now.
With some players unlikely to arrive in the squad until a little later on, the Italy elephant will likely have to be addressed on more than once occasion. The experience of that low could be a well that Wales return to on several occasions this summer.
Victory against Jacques Nienaber's side isn't expected by any means. What Pivac and his coaching staff won't want is to be kicking off the autumn campaign with a frank debrief of another debacle.
