Toby Booth's fifth and final season with the Ospreys didn't end with a flourish or a victory lap, but with four abrupt paragraphs. Just months ago, the Welsh club had gone out of their way to break the news that Booth would leave at the end of the current season as part of some joined-up succession plan, putting together an 11-minute video video interview with yours truly to make the announcement. Now, after a record defeat in Europe, all it took was 121 words to bring forward Booth's exit by half a year.
Just days away from a west Wales derby at home to the Scarlets , former Llanelli wing Mark Jones will step up to the head coach role earlier than expected. It was all, even though the outcome was known for some time, a little sad. Perhaps, ever since Booth and Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley made the announcement back in September, an early split has been inevitable.
Sat at opposite ends of a sofa, in a room decorated for a wedding the following day as rain hammered down on Mumbles' Bracelet Bay in the background, the imagery was striking. In a room made up for the happy couple, this September scene was all about the parting of ways - if, at least, one that seemed amicable on the face of it. But, ever since that moment, the subplot of Booth's departure has always been the elephant in the room.
Rarely do such telegraphed exits go well, even when the good intentions have been made so painfully obvious. SIGN UP: Get the new exclusive Inside Welsh rugby newsletter for full insight int.