Ireland captain Johnny Sexton reckons there is no correlation between the four Welsh regions' poor European form and Wales' Six Nations title hopes.
With Wales' four professional sides again struggling to make a dent in Europe, attention has been drawn once more to what that means for the health of the sport in this country.
And, given the spate of injuries Wayne Pivac has had to deal with, it's understandable why few have built up the prospect of Wales defending their Six Nations crown.
However, Sexton - a vital part of a Leinster side which has continually challenged for European honours - believes the Welsh regions' European form will have little bearing on how Wales get on in the coming weeks.
"To be honest, there's no correlation between [Europe and] how the Six Nations starts," he said at the official Six Nations launch on Wednesday.
"I can remember having this exact same conversation about five years ago when the Irish provinces were flying and the Welsh regions were struggling. They beat us.
"There's no correlation between international performance and provincial. When we come into the Ireland camp, we put on our Irish jersey and we're one team. We leave our provinces at the door. We go about preparing to face the reigning champions.
"I'm a bit surprised by the question given they had such a great Six Nations last year, being a couple of minutes away from winning a Grand Slam, and had a good November as well. We're playing the champions so that's what we have in our mind."
When asked whether, as an outsider, it surprised him that Wales continually achieve more in the national game than the regions, Sexton admitted the national team were always more than the sum of their parts.
"It doesn't surprise me as I know a lot of these players through Lions," he added. "I played with some of them at Racing a good few years ago.
"Their big focus is playing for Wales. It means so much to them. That's why they're so successful because when they come into Wales camp, it's all they've worked for.
"It's what they've dreamed of doing. They're a proud rugby nation. When they come together, they're always better than the sum of their parts. They're reigning champions.
"These problems, or perceived problems, were there when they won the Six Nations last year or the Grand Slam before that. It's not something that we're focused on. We're focused on playing Wales and we're expecting the biggest challenge that we can face."
Sexton's views, while perhaps not as sympathetic to the issues facing the regions right now, do at least align with the sentiment that the professional game in Wales is geared solely for one team - the national side - rather than all five sides.
It comes after both Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan and his Cardiff Rugby counterpart Dai Young called on something to change as the regions continue to struggle in a system which clearly fails to function below the Test game.
On the matter of Wales' injury issues, Ireland coach Andy Farrell, like Sexton, expects Wales to once again rally together.
"We all know the truth, how the Welsh come together and how they're a proud rugby nation," Farrell said. "They've got world-class players who will push them on to be at their brimming best.
"I heard the comments out of their camp last week regarding all that [experience missing through injuries]. I think they'll have a mentality that they have nothing to lose. I'm 100% sure Wales have grown their depth in recent years because certain guys have been missing.
"There are guys there now who have played in the summer or autumn who will be super excited about playing in a championship team.
"That'll help Wales not only in the future, but the here and now."
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