It's not fair but it doesn't look like there is a whole lot that can be done to stop it from happening either. Connacht released a statement this afternoon with the news that their prized asset, Robbie Henshaw, will be leaving the province when his contract expires in the summer.
This is a particularly cruel defection, even for a province used to seeing their best international players prized away by rival provinces - usually Leinster.
Henshaw is one of those rare talents who simultaneously shows huge potential while also already being one of the national team's best players.
Sure we don't even know his best position yet, such has been the versatility he has shown in being able to perform at a high level no matter what his jersey number.
For a while it looked like his departure might be avoided.
Flashback to this exact moment in November, and things never looked better for Connacht.
Their team of young guns stormed Thomond Park for their first win there in 29 years - and looked damn good doing it. Denis Buckley was immense at loosehead while Bundee Aki, Matt Healy and Craig Ronaldson all looked brilliant with the ball in hand.
But the star was Henshaw. He showed off every one of his diverse skills on the night and capped it off with a powerful surge past Keith Earls and a sublime offload off the floor to seal the win.
At the time, Munster's season was in the toilet while Leinster were just coming off two big European Cup defeats. Given the form of those two teams and how stocked Ulster are in the backline, it seemed conceivable that Henshaw might opt to stay out west.
At the time, George Hook wrote a passionate column demanding that the IRFU try to keep Henshaw in Connacht.
"What kind of message is the IRFU sending to Connacht players and supporters if, as soon as there is a hint of success, the best young players are stripped away and packed off to other teams? How are Connacht supposed to develop and improve if they are continually treated like a feeder farm for their provincial rivals? Money should not be an issue for Henshaw, as he is currently on a central contract from the Union and will be eligible for a significant top-up from private investment when his current deal expires next summer.
And, with a young, talented, cohesive squad around him in Connacht, I am at a loss as to why he would even consider leaving Galway for the current mess that is Leinster. Now, because Leinster click their fingers and because the IRFU is not strong enough to stand over Connacht's development, the brightest star is being whisked away. It is nothing short of a disgrace."
Fast forward to today and for once, Hook looks to be talking sense. A young Connacht squad with talent like Buckley, Aki, Eoghan Masterson, Ultan Dillane and Healy would be a brilliant place for Henshaw to continue his development.
But what is the IRFU to do if a player says he wants to leave his province to play for another one? Force him to stay?
Connacht fans might not like it but Leinster - who will be Robbie Henshaw's new club according to the Independent - are just operating within the current framework.
It is not Leinster's job to help Connacht develop. It is the IRFU's.
It's tough for Connacht to hold onto their very best players with such predatory provincial rivals. Perhaps the IRFU could have offered Henshaw two deals - one based on him playing for a province other than Connacht and an improved deal on the condition that he remain with his fledgling team.
Instead, for the fourth time in recent years, Leinster looks to be the likely destination for a Connacht star.
Henshaw obviously thought long and hard about his future and opted to move to Dublin, something that Fionn Carr, Sean Cronin and Mike McCarthy have all done in the past.
All four of those were key players in Connacht's side at the time of moving, and with the exception of Carr, were all internationals.
Leinster fans could argue that Connacht have been the recipient of some of their young talent in the past - Quinn Roux, John Cooney and even Carr himself all got their start at Leinster.
But that isn't a fair comparison as the players who went west were all in need of development, while the players who are going the other way are being taken just as they reach their prime in the Connacht side.
The aforementioned quartet all honed their skills at the Sportsgrounds and it is an indictment of the current system that Connacht couldn't hold onto any of them.
The IRFU need to come up with a structure that financially rewards top players who stay in Connacht, short of forcing them there like Oliver Cromwell once did. Anything less and it will only be a matter of time before we are having the exact same conversation but this time Buckley, Healy, Marmion and Aki.
