The Waratahs are still hunting for a complete 80-minute performance after a crushing 34-17 defeat to the Hurricanes.
The hosts replicated their round one win over the Reds, holding tough in the first quarter before blowing the game out with a second-half burst.
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It leaves Darren Coleman's men facing crunch time with a date with the rampaging Chiefs awaiting.
So what did we learn?
1.Switching on
The Waratahs were competitive for 75 minutes against the Hurricanes. It’s the other five that will frustrate Darren Coleman.
They fell off just after the break, with an errand pass allowing Devan Flanders to chip ahead of Cam Roigard’s second.
Three minutes later, Kini Naholo sliced through some sloppy defence to hand the Hurricanes a 17-point lead.
The visitors chased the game from here via some loose passing and offloading, leaving them with just one win from four games.
2. Youthful exuberance
There’s nothing like the sheer confidence of a teenager to pull off the impossible. That’s what Max Jorgensen did in the first half.
Even the TMO seemed surprised when the 18-year-old somehow kept his body in the field of play to score in the corner.
It’s close to the try of the season already as the young gun continues his dream start to Super Rugby, the first Waratah to score in each of his first three games.
In his first game at fullback, Jorgensen was controlled. He wasn’t really troubled under the high ball as expected but definitely didn’t look out of place.
3. Playing the conditions
The Waratahs persisted with the long line out and it costs them all night.
They failed to make it work in the blustery conditions, gifting possession on multiple occasions.
It allowed the Hurricanes to strike for Nadolo’s second before setting up Dane Coles for the bonus-point try.
They lost four on the night whilst the scrum seemed to struggle for ascendancy.
4. Going bust
Darren Coleman didn't even get the chance to see the Gamble-Hooper-Gleeson trio in action before the Kiwi-turned-Australian flanker was forced off with a shoulder injury in the 18th minute.
Coleman expects Gamble to miss some time with a subluxation, with Lalakai Foketi suffering his own shoulder issue that saw him subbed off at the half-time break
Gleeson was once again the standout for the Waratahs, setting the tempo inside 30 seconds with a near-replica burst of the one that saw him disallowed a try against the Rebels.
As for Hooper, he dived on every loose ball for turnovers but fell off tackles in defence, missing an uncharacteristic seven.
The introduction of Mahe Vailanu and Harry Johnson-Holmes provides added breakdown threat, although they still struggled from an attacking perspective.
5. Feeling the tremors
Julian Savea must’ve felt the pressure of Nemani Nadolo coming as the hulking Waratah showed his skill to open their scoring.
Nadolo casually picked the ball up with one hand and blasted over to score the opening try of the match after Savea coughed off the restart
It was the perfect way to make up for his effort from last week against the Rebels.
With Dylan Pietsch expected to return next week, Nadolo faces a battle to retain his spot.
