MAYBE it was some kind of bizarre posthumous tribute to Patrick Moore, but last weekend came close to seeing the first total eclipse of the Pro12 league in Heineken Cup history.
No doubt the scientific community watched in bewildered awe as black clouds from either England or France slowly passed over Edinburgh, Connacht, Treviso, Zebre, the Scarlets, Leinster, Ulster, the Blues, Glasgow and Munster in turn, plunging all into darkness.
Only in Swansea was any sunlight visible, thanks to the Ospreys' 17-6 victory over Toulouse. It was, assuredly, the toughest weekend in Europe for the Pro12 since its formation two seasons ago and the most dismal batch of European results Celtic sides have suffered since they joined together to form a home-and-away league in 2003.
It was the first time in six years for all four Irish provinces to lose in the same round. "Irish rugby hasn't known such a demoralising weekend in a long time," summed up the Irish Times.
They should try living in Scotland or Italy, where the locals haven't won a Heineken Cup game all season: played 16, lost the lot. Wales isn't much better, with the Scarlets and Blues still searching for their first triumphs in 2012-13.
The Scarlets could actually be looking at their second European whitewash in five years, with a trip to Dublin to face Leinster followed by a date with Clermont Auvergne in Llanelli. Best of luck with those.
The Blues could yet go the same way, but a home game with Sale — 62-0 losers in Toulon last time out — offers hope that the campaign will not prove completely fruitless.
At least the Ospreys are proving competitive in Pool 2, with Saturday's win over Toulouse a tribute to their defiance. Pummelled by injuries, they could easily have felt sorry for themselves and accepted this wasn't going to be their year, but they dug deep to produce a performance loaded with grit, physicality, character and no little skill.
It didn't happen by chance. A strong pack is a must-have item in European rugby, without which no team can be properly competitive, and despite stripping millions of pounds from their wage bill in recent seasons, the Ospreys have kept together a core of forwards capable of standing toe to toe with the likes of Toulouse and Leicester.
So we saw Adam Jones coming off the bench to bring about the European rugby equivalent of a yeti sighting, a Toulouse pack going backwards at a rate of knots with props unceremoniously dumped on the ground after everyone behind had bailed out in the face of opposition pressure.
We saw Ryan Jones achieving a vital turnover at a short-range scrum with minutes left, with Adam Jones on the sidelines after being yellow carded.
And we saw Joe Bearman make three hits in 59 seconds during the second half, augmenting the work of Richard Hibbard, who didn't stop hurling himself into opposition players all afternoon, despite it being his first game back after a month out with injury.
Ask Yoann Huget about Hibbard. At one point, the 17st 4lb Osprey dived clean off his feet to wipe out the wing. Huget must have felt he had been struck by a ballistic missile.
Over in Llanelli, the Scarlets are finding that while they can do damage with their backs in the Pro12 league, when possession becomes an issue in Europe, they struggle to make headway.
What has been especially encouraging for the Ospreys is the way youngsters such as Justin Tipuric, Ryan Bevington, James King and Lloyd Peers have performed alongside more senior colleagues.
Tipuric's showing against Toulouse in Swansea was a case in point, the second-half alone seeing him put in eight tackles, including two on the French club's ball-carrying spearhead Louis Picamoles, and achieve a couple of crucial turnovers in the final five minutes.
He isn't about just courage, either, proving as much when Eli Walker rocketed clear on a 50-metre sprint upfield. After one of European rugby's fastest wings was eventually dragged down, he found Tipuric on his shoulder, a flanker with the pace of an outside back.
The issue for the Ospreys is whether they can hold on to such players in the long term.
If they can, tomorrow may not prove as bleak as some had feared.
"It's a source of immense pride to a lot of us to see how well the youngsters are performing," said Ospreys assistant coach Gruff Rees.
"I've seen a lot of them from when they were kids of 15 or 16 and you get a sense of satisfaction watching them develop.
"But it hasn't happened by chance. We've planned for it as part of the region's strategy over two or three years.
"Budgetary implications force the issue sometimes, but to be fair to Andrew Hore and the board, they've had a vision about where we want to go with our development.
"Some of the boys have had to be patient. Two years ago, people were saying Tipuric needed games, but he had Marty Holah in front of him. James King hasn't had a load of matches, but he's had senior internationals ahead of him and he has learned off them.
"When he's had his chance, he's proved ready, willing and more than able to take it.
"It's about bringing people through at the right time."
King has been exceptional in the two games against Toulouse, running the Ospreys' line-out at the age of 22 and helping to fill the void created by the injuries to Ian Evans and Alun Wyn Jones.
"I see James as a potentially world-class back five forward," said Rees.
"I've always seen him as a six and part of me still sees him in that role because he can add so much to our attacking game. But his line-out calling as a five has been fantastic since he's been given that responsibility. He understands the tactical part of the game and he could create a little niche for himself in the second row.
"It will be interesting to see how the next few months go for James, with others coming back to the fold. He put in a load of tackles again last weekend.
"If you've got a second row performing like that, backing up the high numbers of people like Ryan Jones, Joe Bearman and Justin Tipuric, then the team averages are going up and you can defend against sides like Toulouse for long periods because one to eight are doing their jobs."
A chink of sunlight, very definitely.
