Australian teams face harsh reviews and "honesty sessions", as they digest another whitewash by NZ counterparts in the second round of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman.
New Zealand's five teams have won all 10 matches in the first two rounds, underlining the gulf in class between the nations.
While still far from Australia's 40-match losing streak that spanned two years of Super Rugby up to 2018, alarm bells are ringing about the competition's long-term viability.
Australia's strongest sides were humiliated, with Super Rugby AU champions Queensland suffering a record 63-28 loss to the Aotearoa champion Crusaders.
ACT Brumbies fared little better in a battle of the losing finalists from the domestic competitions, falling 40-19 to the Chiefs.
"Obviously, we're all pretty devastated with the result," says Brumbies flyhalf Noah Lolesio. "It's not what we wanted at all.
"We've had a pretty harsh review so far and we're just keeping everyone accountable for that performance that we did."
The Reds were the toast of Australia, after snatching victory in a thrilling final over the Brumbies in front of 40,000 fans at Lang Park two weeks ago, but have now conceded 104 points, including their first-round thrashing by the Highlanders.
"We're not going to make excuses, that was a pretty poor performance," says Reds loose forward Angus Scott-Young. "That's a reality check and we'll grow from that.
"We're going to have an honesty session today, look at where we went wrong, how we can improve, but there's still a lot to salvage from this tournament."
The domestic Super Rugby AU enjoyed positive ratings, as Australians tuned in to watch a competition that guaranteed local winners weekly.
But media pundits are already questioning whether fans can deal with weekly beatdowns from New Zealand sides in the Trans-Tasman match-ups.
While New Zealand hopes to broaden the trans-Tasman format to include two Pacific sides next year, more lop-sided results could doom their plan.
This weekend, the Hurricanes host Western Force, the Waratahs play the Crusaders in Christchurch, the Brumbies travel to Auckland to play the Blues, the Reds host the Chiefs, and the Highlanders and Melbourne Rebels do battle in Dunedin.
Super Rugby Trans-Tasman Table:
- Blues 10 points
- Hurricanes 10
- Crusaders 9
- Highlanders 9
- Chiefs 9
- Force 1
- Brumbies 1
- Waratahs 0
- Reds 0
- Rebels 0
Reuters
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