In the not too distant future light will peak through COVID's long, lingering shadow. For now, though, it continues to wreak havoc on the New Zealand Super Rugby Pacific landscape.
Set against the backdrop of the peaking Omicron outbreak, which in New Zealand is some months behind the rest of the world in dealing with this latest variant, Super Rugby Pacific's inaugural season picked a fight with the playground bully it was never going to win.
Steadfastly clinging to seven figure broadcast payments that keep the competition -- and by extension teams - afloat has seen postponed matches flow as frequently as tries.
Organisers did their best to initially dodge integrity damage by shifting all six New Zealand-based teams to a Queenstown bubble. The move wasn't quick enough for new entrants Moana Pasifika, who caught COVID before flying south and were the first team forced into isolation and a belated debut. After two weeks in Queenstown, which enabled five matches to be played without issues, mounting pressure behind the scenes from senior players led to the bubble being cut short by one week and teams returning home.
While players have since been required to live under tight confines - not venturing out to public venues such as supermarkets, cafes, restaurants and prohibited from mixing in large groups outside team environments - living at home with family, partners, and flat-mates going about their daily lives significantly increased exposure.
Inevitably, all New Zealand teams have now been riddled by COVID to create a scheduling nightmare that leaves this year's competition wide open for upsets.
Five games all told need to be replayed as mid-week fixtures. The Hurricanes and Blues have two each. Moana Pasifika three - gulp. The Highlanders, Chiefs and Crusaders one each.
That translates to compromised matches and coaching headaches with widespread squad rotation necessary to manage workloads and welfare.
All New Zealand sides are certain to field vastly understrength teams in the coming weeks as they attempt to make up for those lost fixtures.
Such a scenario will demand coaches take selection risks they would not otherwise have to.
The Crusaders-Blues fixture in Christchurch, for instance, promises to have a major bearing on final seedings. With that headline match now needing to be rescheduled midweek, those teams could both be vulnerable in their respective outings that follow.
New Zealand teams will be more comfortable rolling out second-string sides against Moana Pasifika but, even then, their debut against the Crusaders proved they could pose significantly weakened opposition problems.
It's not as if New Zealand teams have delivered their finest work thus far this season, either. Last week's Crusaders Chiefs match was the exception; a contest of two high quality teams that featured a gripping finish. Add the Hurricanes scarcely-believable three-try comeback over the Blues in Dunedin to that list.
Otherwise, though, there have been far too many average games. The Hurricanes-Highlanders, Moana Pasifika-Crusaders and Blues-Highlanders, the latter dragging on for 10 farcical minutes of added time in search of bonus points, all underwhelmed.
Sam Cane, Ardie Savea and Dalton Papalii aside, New Zealand's work at the breakdown has been laboured - certainly compared with the Six Nations.
Handling errors, issues under the high ball, aimless kicking and attacking patience, the ability to build sustained pressure, have frustrated.
Frequent COVID deflections have played a part. Last week the Blues lost All Blacks Beauden Barrett and Nepo Laulala from their starting team against the Highlanders, forcing a major late reshuffle to the backline. And it showed in a poor first half, before they found their rhythm in the second spell.
The Chiefs and Crusaders were, likewise, heavily affected for their match in Christchurch.
With five New Zealand teams in the midst of outbreaks, there's a sense they will soon emerge out the other side. Swiftly building momentum may not be straightforward, though, as players will likely have differing returns from COVID which could cause further disruption.
The New Zealand government delivered positive news on Wednesday by announcing the border will open to Australian travellers without the need for isolation from April 12, paving the way for trans-Tasman matches to commence with the Super Round in Melbourne 10 days later.
Expectations, from a New Zealand perspective at least, is those matches will follow a similar one-sided script. While the Fijian Drua are proving a welcome addition and will only improve with time, there appears little in Australia to quiver the leading New Zealand contenders - the Chiefs, Crusaders and underperforming Blues.
To this point, New Zealand teams may have also suffered from playing behind closed doors. Sterile atmospheres do nothing to inspire elite athletes. Thankfully that situation should evolve in the coming weeks but on the basis of what we have witnessed so far, don't expect crowds to immediately flood back in their droves.
The bar needs to be raised.