Half an hour after Italy achieved a shocking victory that could have brought every statue in Rome back to life, a cleaning crew moved into the Stadio Oimpico.
A hoist was moved to knock down the goal post. A water gun blew away the pitch marks. Corner flags were torn off, as were brand marks.
If only the Scottish nightmare had gone away in the same way. As long as Italy's joy will last, so will Scotland's disappointment.
Italy's 21 unanswered points, seven consecutive penalties conceded, a blown 12-point lead, and still knowing that Gregor Townsend's side have been inconsistent at times despite their excellence. If not, it would probably be a truly shocking lack of discipline. Never give up.
Flamboyance is part of this team. Creativity, ambition, and divine experimentation are all elements of their nature.
They can put in big performances and beat teams with more resources. They can feel the thrill, as they did on a regular basis during the Townsend era, like in the first half against Wales, when they scored that wonderful try that put England to sleep.
What they have in them, and what prevents them from being true contenders for this tournament, is a tendency to implode, a tendency to make stupid decisions under pressure, a tendency to give penalties that make opponents believe , a tendency to reveal a sweet belly and invite hungry rivals. Italy attacked it.
And in terms of mental strength, the Italians beat the Scots.
Apparently the Scots have a mental strength coach – his official title may be more lofty – but where is the evidence that he is having an influence? Cardiff was on the verge of collapse, Rome was completely destroyed. Now it's a trip to Dublin against an injured Irishman.
Have we entered the realm of calling for a mental strength coach to help a mental strength coach try to drag the Scots off the floor for a final push in a championship that has become a pot game?
Had Scotland done what they should have done in Rome, as happened at Twickenham, they should have had a shot at the title next Saturday in Dublin. It was like a second shock to the gut for the 15,000-strong visitor.
Coffin began working late into the night. They concluded that Scotland still had a chance of winning. If Wales beat France on Sunday and England lose to France next Saturday, a 39-point win over Ireland at the Aviva would probably get the job done.
That is unless Ireland concede a goal. Archimedes would have nodded at the arithmetic, but would have laughed out loud at the possibility.
“The Scotsman's heart turned into a marshmallow”
Scotland was good for 30 minutes in Rome. They were clinical and controlled. Xander Fagerson drove in after the Scottish forward put unbearable pressure on the opposition.
Kyle Steyn scored the extra points with some quick thinking at the lineout and important carries from Duane van der Merwe and Jack Dempsey. Pierre Schoeman got on the edge of the maul and it was his third try after 27 minutes. Scotland led 22-10. And it was almost easy.
George Turner was in full thunder mode. Andy Christie was cooking up a storm. Finn Russell wasn't shocking, but fell in small moments of class, like the 50-22 that sparked Schoeman's score.
They looked a confident team, downplaying the fatalism some, if not many, of their fans might have brought to Roma. They looked like adults. It was a reliable team.
And that has changed. It would be foolish to think that Paolo Garbisi's penalty 35 minutes into the game would have made it 22-13 for him, but there would have been very few shots that would have been of concern, but that's what happened. Ta. Turner didn't release and it ended, and Martin Page-Lillo scored another three points.
Italy dominated the remaining minutes of the first half. The home crowd was silent for a long time, then went wild.
Scotland needed a settler and thought they had one when George Horne scored two minutes into the second half. It was correctly excluded. Two minutes later, Blair Kinghorn took a nasty kick that set up Lewis Reiner to score.
Italy trailed by a point and everything had a Cardiff flavor to it.
It's not that Italy was perfect on its feet. It wasn't. There was no need for that. Their lineout was a bit disorganized and their handling questionable at times, but they continued to attack. And they would have recognized the existential crisis occurring on the other side.
Scotland awarded penalty after penalty, but this time they could not criticize the referee's poor decision. This was the team losing its plot and revealing the other side of its personality.
They couldn't manage the ball, couldn't phase and apply pressure, couldn't show control and looked like lost lambs.
Was there a Scottish leader? Will there be someone to calm everyone down and get them back on track? It didn't seem that way. Was there an Italian leader? We have a lot. Juan Ignacio Brex, Michele Ramaro, Ross Vincent, Sebastian Negri. It's just for beginners.
Penalties do not occur in isolation. These happen because your opponent is forcing you to do something you don't want to do, but do it anyway because the game is balanced, the atmosphere is intense, and the sense of desperation is heightened. please.
In such an environment, your mind can turn into a marshmallow. That's what happened in Scotland.
The penalty count against the opponent at the break was 5-4, but it became 6-4, 7-4, 8-4, 9-4. Stephen Barney scored to make it 28-22 for Italy. The penalty count increased to 10-4, 11-4, and 12-4. Where were Scotland's on-field problem solvers? they didn't exist.
In the end, Sam Skinner hung in and made it a two-point lead with three minutes left. He went through over 20 phases in Scotland's last play, but we knew what was going to happen.
A team that spits out the ball and makes the wrong move doesn't just turn into a merciless machine in the final seconds. Kinghorn attempted a dangerous offload, but the ball spilled and the game ended.
Italy deserve it and, in the grand scheme of things, this is a great result for the Six Nations and perhaps a coming-of-age win for the Azzurri.
It's always been the same for Scotland. Yoyo life. More is better, but too much is not enough. At best, they do things that only the champion side can do, and at worst, they do things that the champion side would never do.
Return to the beginning. Also.