For someone like Josh Adams, a year without a try in Test rugby is an anomaly - albeit a frustrating one.
This weekend marks a full year since Adams last crossed the whitewash in a Welsh jersey. Granted, that score was a fairly important one.
Squeezing over in the corner in Bloemfontein secured Wales their first victory against the Springboks on South African soil. Cometh the hour, cometh the man and all that.
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But, the eight games that have followed have seen Adams go tryless. His previous longest stretch without a score for Wales was seven matches, back in 2020.
That barren spell followed a scintillating start to Test rugby in which he scored 13 tries in 15 caps and was top scorer at the 2019 World Cup.
At the time, he was philosophical about his fate. “It doesn’t affect me too much, if I’m honest with you,” said Adams back in 2020.
“I don’t change anything that I do. I don’t change the way I train or how I prepare, I keep to the same sort of routine and methods of how I go about things.
“Tries will come. I play on the wing, it’s inevitable that at some point I’m going to put the ball down. Whenever that is, I don’t know.
“Look, as long as I am contributing to the team - whether that’s scoring tries, defending well or chasing kicks - then I’m happy.
“If tries come off the back of that, great, I hope they do, but as long as I am making a positive impact and the coaches are happy, that’s my focus.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be running in hat-tricks every other game again, that would be brilliant, but time will tell and I wouldn’t change anything. I will just keep chipping away and I am sure the tries will come.”
And, they did come. After that seven-game wait, Adams finally got off the mark as Wales racked up their biggest home score against England before crossing in matches against Italy and France on the way to a Six Nations title.
You'd imagine Adams, a couple of years older and wiser, would be just as relaxed about things right now. As a player, he's someone who almost has to have an element of frustration present in his game.
He seems to thrive with a chip on his shoulder, while - maybe more than any other in the Wales squad - he's almost like the emotional barometer of the side. He lives every tackle, kick and try on the pitch in the most visible of terms.
Because of that, it could be easy to reach for the 'cutting a frustrated figure' when talking about Adams' experiences with Wales in the last year, especially given how frustrating the year as a whole in Welsh rugby has been.
But, other than the lack of Test tries, Adams has been as good as ever for club and country in the last season. His form for Cardiff has been some of his best, while he's gone well for Wales both on the wing and at full-back - albeit without any tries.
That's not for a lack of trying. One superb solo effort against Georgia was chalked off, while chances have been few and far between in a Wales team that has struggled under two coaches.
The one game where he perhaps did miss a clear-cut chance was against Italy earlier this year, with matters being compounded by Adams being replaced after 52 minutes in Rome.
However, there's been far more good than bad for Adams in the 2022/23 season. He's been quietly excellent and that bodes well ahead of his second World Cup campaign.
Five years ago, it was the unseen work around the park that impressed Warren Gatland most when Wales beat Australia in 2018. How he worked defensively and dealt with kicks was the foundations for his place in the team.
Then, in Japan, he finished as World Cup top try-scorer with seven.
The tries will come again. And, like London buses, it probably won't be one and done when they do.
And with games about to come thick and fast in the latter part of 2023, when they do come, it could well be a flurry similar to four years ago.
