There was no piece of white paper signalling peace in our time — no celebratory smiles and very definitely no caps thrown joyously into the air.
Indeed, Ken Owens looked as if he’d just heard a lorry had reversed over his motor in the Vale Resort car park.
He didn’t sound a hundred percent well.
A metaphor for Welsh rugby, perhaps?
To a point.
Whereas a few cups of honey and lemon tea and a good night’s sleep might ease the Wales captain’s sore throat, it’s going to take a lot more to restore the oval-ball sport in Wales to good health.
It was an al fresco press conference hastily arranged amid the gathering early evening gloom, with interim Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Nigel Walker and Owens answering questions.
Walker is an approachable man who’ll answer phone calls and give people time. He is emollient and gives the impression of being reasonable.
But his organisation has had a terrible few months or even years.
They preside over the game this side of the River Severn and Welsh rugby has been a shambles for too long.
Just in case anyone was in any doubt about that, Owens was on hand to clarify. "Welsh rugby can't keep going on this merry-go-round of crisis after crisis, because it is affecting everyone in the game,” said the hooker, one of the most respected rugby men in Europe.
“We need to do it collaboratively to put Welsh rugby back at the top of world rugby, and not the laughing stock which I think we are at the moment.”
Laughing stocks the world over might have been moved to complain after being bracketed with Welsh rugby, but that’s another matter.
But at least the threat to Saturday’s Wales v England game had been removed, the Welsh players having decided not to strike after a deal was struck that secured them representation on the Professional Rugby Board, the watering down of the 60-cap rule to 25 caps and players in future having the option of fixed contracts or fixed-variable deals that involve bonuses.
The new 25-cap rule means a Welsh player plying his trade beyond the regions cannot play for Wales unless he has reached that number of Test appearances.
It means more players will have the option to leave Welsh rugby, with all its chaos, endless rows and potentially tighter wage structure, to pursue careers elsewhere while retaining their international ambitions.
Not all will take the opportunity to go. Some are home birds and some won’t feel happy about uprooting their families.
A graphic on social media by stats maestro Russ Petty listed 22 regional players who could now depart Welsh rugby and still play for Wales as a result of the lowering of the cap threshold. These are people who currently boast between 25 and 59 caps.
Importantly, Will Rowlands is not among them.
The Dragons lock and reigning Welsh player of the year is heading for Racing 92 next term but he has only 23 caps, is out injured and, as of Thursday morning, there was uncertainty about when his deal in France starts.
The worry is if it begins before Wales’ World Cup warm-up matches this summer, the 31-year-old would be ineligible for the World Cup and all other Tests going forward. That would be a huge blow to Warren Gatland with Rowlands outstanding for Wales last year.
Of those affected by the rule change, who might be targeted by clubs from other countries? There have already been strong rumours suggesting Gareth Anscombe is being watched closely by teams from France and Japan, with props Nicky Smith and Dillon Lewis thought to be attracting interest from England.
Lyon are said to be contemplating a bid to buy Josh Adams out of his Cardiff contract, with several French clubs reported to be on the trail of Ryan Elias.
Ross Moriarty is also perennially linked with moves away.
None of those players or any of the others could be blamed if they opted to up sticks and leave given the state of the Welsh game right now.
Of course, there are no guarantees queues will be forming for every player who's now free to head off. Budgets are tight in England as well, while clubs in France are becoming choosier over non-French qualified players in their ranks, amid a tightening of rules on overseas imports.
But the likelihood is that some will go. Gatland will have mixed feelings.
He will be delighted the Six Nations game against England is on this weekend and a measure of stability has been restored but an exodus of players could see Wales’ training seriously impacted during fallow weeks in camp, with significant numbers returning to clubs. Such players also wouldn’t be available for out-of-window Tests, either.
And there’s also the regions to consider as they face up to reduced budgets over the coming seasons and potential player losses that would weaken their ability to be competitive.
But it was morally wrong to hold the cap limit at 60 while making an attempt to drive down wages.
Something had to give, and it did.
Now we wait to assess the consequences.
Watch this space.
Players who could leave Welsh rugby and still play for Wales as a result of rule changes
Cardiff: Rhys Priestland (caps: 56), Dillon Lewis (47), Josh Adams (46), Tomos Williams (42), Josh Navidi (33), Lloyd Williams (32).
Dragons: Ross Moriarty (54), Elliot Dee (43), Rob Evans (39), Aaron Wainwright (36).
Ospreys: Alex Cuthbert (57), Adam Beard (43), Nicky Smith (42), Rhys Webb (38), Scott Baldwin (36), Owen Watkin (36), Gareth Anscombe (35).
Scarlets: Scott Williams (58), Wyn Jones (46), Samson Lee (46), Ryan Elias (33), Aaron Shingler (27).
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