Wales have failed to have an active interest in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals three times in the previous 17 tournaments - and now the Ospreys stand alone in avoiding a fourth Welsh free zone in the last eight.
With Cardiff Blues and the Scarlets both rooted to the foot of their groups and without a tournament win between them in the 18th season of European club rugby's blue riband event it all rests on the Ospreys.
Pool 2 honours are still up for grabs with Leicester Tigers on 14 points, Toulouse on 13 and the Ospreys on nine with the Tigers travelling to the Liberty Stadium to face the Ospreys in a Round 5 Sunday showdown.
"We don't see that as extra pressure," said head coach Steve Tandy of a situation with them trying to prevent the second Pool stages wipe-out for the regions in three seasons, the last eight in the 2010/11 campaign consisting of four French and two clubs from England and Ireland .
"We just want to be winners. We have lost people like Ian Evans, Alun Wyn Jones, Aaron Jarvis and Hanno Dirksen, but we don't make excuses. We just get on with it.
"It's isn't about being reliant on individuals, anyway. It's about the team, and it's surprising what a team can do. That's why I think we are in a good place at the minute, because everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.
"We want to produce performances that people don't think we can come up with, like defeating Toulouse at home and beating the Scarlets comfortably on Boxing Day.
"Some people doubted that we could put in those performances with all our injuries and limited squad size, but as Ospreys we want to be winners, irrelevant of budget constraints. That kind of stuff doesn't help, but we want to be the best we can be."
The Tigers were awarded two penalty tries courtesy of their scrum power at Worcester Warriors in the Premiership last weekend and how the Ospreys use their possession will be crucial with outside half Dan Biggar the controller.
"He's a stand-out for us with the way he kicks the goals and runs games and has been fantastic from the end of last season through to where we are now," said Tandy
"He has been outstanding. He's maturing and, on and off the field, he drives us."
