London Welsh are down – it is already a lost cause. They were down weeks ago, to be honest. Conceding 70 points to Wasps was the death knell.
In their first five games of the campaign, they let in 52, 53, 46, 46 and 52 points. They have one point from nine games.
When Leicester beat them 26-5 the other week, Tigers were dreadful but still totally dominated the game.
When the Exiles score a try, we all feel happy for them that their misery has been halted for a brief moment. Commentators say they have "not stopped fighting".
It is like watching an injured mouse pitifully battling for its life against a big tabby cat. There can only be one outcome.
The point of this sorry tale is not to mock them, however. This is a proud club with 129 years of history who are victims of circumstance.
When Welsh finally won promotion to the Aviva Premiership on June 4, by defeating Bristol 48-28 on aggregate, the vast majority of players on the market in both the northern and southern hemisphere had already signed for a club.
Still, Welsh recruited frantically. They even managed to sign Olly Barkley, 33, and Piri Weepu, 31, to add some international experience to the squad.
However, the rest of a myriad of new signings just do not seem good enough. And, crucially, they have had no time to gel together.
From the minute Welsh got promoted, to their first game in the Premiership, their coaching, marketing and ticket sales staff had 95 days to get it right.
To comply with Premiership criteria, they are playing their home matches in Oxford, 75 miles away from their long-term home in Richmond. Thanks very much.
Welsh were, in essence, given a death sentence the minute they were promoted. The Championship simply has to get together with the RFU to make the play-offs happen sooner.
Ending two-legged finals and protracted play-offs would be a good place to start.
If the RFU, Championship and Premiership genuinely want a fluid promotion/relegation system to work, they have to offer the side coming up a better chance of building a squad which can survive in the Premiership.
That means more time on and off the pitch.
You also hope the long-term effects on the Exiles are not as grave as they could be. Nobody wants to watch a side that concedes an average of 46 points a game for long.
Welsh will probably admit they have made mistakes of their own. Last time they came up, in 2012-13, they almost stayed up. Perhaps they have just brought in too many players this time around.
In reality, their cards were marked. Welsh are doomed and you feel for everyone involved at the club.
Beating Toulon in either of the two games coming up during the next fortnight will probably represent Tigers' biggest achievement of the past few years.
The club's win over Montpellier away from home in December 2013 was probably their biggest triumph in Europe in recent times.
Beating Toulouse in the snow at Welford Road in 2012-13 and Clermont the previous season were big victories, too.
But missing big ball carriers like Manu Tuilagi, Logovi'i Mulipola, Ed Slater, Seremaia Bai and Christian Loamanu for a game against a team with the size and physical power of Toulon, will present those who make the squad with a Herculean task of downing the best side in Europe.
It is going to take some performance.
