The timing of Newcastle's demise is particularly sad - with the club's relegation from the Gallagher Premiership confirmed just a week before the city stages two European finals at St James' Park.
There was no shortage of defiance and class from Dean Richards' team as they fell to defeat against Gloucester at Kingsholm, but they just couldn't engineer a miraculous escape.
And soon after their fate was sealed, there was further defiance and class from the Falcons, with a prompt statement of intent to bounce straight back from the Championship and continue all their sterling work to develop and nurture the sport in the North East.
Newcastle Falcons were relegated from the Gallagher Premiership after defeat by Gloucester
It is right to sympathise with a fine institution and many fine people within it, but this is not an occasion to lament the system of promotion and relegation. Far from it. It is a time to celebrate how the system promotes the essential sporting honesty and integrity of the league.
Newcastle's plight, especially given their strategic value in the English game, has led to renewed calls for the Premiership to be ring-fenced. Those calls should be ignored. Such a move would have implications at the top of the table, as well as at the bottom.
As a perfect example of this, Worcester went to Franklin's Gardens on Saturday and were put to the sword by play-off contenders Northampton. They were a pale imitation of the intensely-committed side who had beaten Gloucester six days earlier, to secure their top-flight status. The Warriors didn't have the same fight in them, as they had nothing left to play for. That is not unprofessional so much as unavoidable human nature, in a sport founded on primal emotion.
On Friday night, Harlequins - also in the hunt for the play-offs - were made to fight every inch of the way before beating Leicester to advance their play-off cause, because the Tigers were in desperate survival mode, which Worcester no longer needed to be. If there was no relegation, several clubs could spend several months with precious little to play for, and that could impact on others vying for titles and trophies, if not all opponents are committing body and soul to their weekly work.
There have been calls for the Premiership to be ring-fenced, calls which should be ignored
Ring-fencing would lead to a raft of meaningless fixtures in March, April and May every year. Surely, that wouldn't appeal to CVC, after their huge investment in the Premiership. Maybe, as a means of actually acting in rugby's best interests, the private equity firm could plough some of their vast financial resources into the Championship. That would win hearts and minds in the English game, by making the second tier more viable and fostering ambitions in Cornwall, Yorkshire and elsewhere.
Guided by the canny Richards, Newcastle will bounce back next season, even if they lose several players. Their demise needn't be terminal. And ring-fencing should not be approved in their name. The Premiership's honesty and integrity is a large part of its appeal.
Saturday's result at Allianz Park has added intrigue to the Premiership play-off equation, as it raises the possibility of Saracens snatching top spot. The champions' largely reserve line-up battered Exeter.
Rob Baxter's Chiefs have wobbled lately and if Northampton upset them at Sandy Park on May 18, their prize will be a trip to Barnet, as Saracens will surely run riot at Worcester, for a bonus-point win. That scenario would mean the semi-finals are Saracens vs Northampton and Exeter vs Gloucester.
If Exeter revive to see off the Saints, Harlequins can sneak in by beating Wasps, to make it Exeter vs Harlequins and Saracens vs Gloucester. That is the more likely outcome, but this league specialises in plot twists, so don't bank on it.
This league specialises in plot twists, so don't bank on anything in the play-off race yet
European tournament organisers EPCR must take urgent action to overhaul and simplify the complex
