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A HORROR weekend has seen Australia's conference exposed as the weakest of the three halfway through the Super Rugby season.
Four of the bottom six places on the table are now occupied by Australian teams, including the 10th-placed Waratahs.
Australian teams have performed pathetically in inter-conference matches against Kiwi and South African sides, losing 13 of 16 encounters so far.
WARATAHS V STORMERS: Stormers belt Tahs into submission
REDS V BULLS: Reds now Super Rugby's worst team
FORCE V CHEETAHS: Cheetahs heap more pain on Force
BRUMBIES V BLUES: Blues kick away from Brumbies
The Blues scored their first win of the season against the Brumbies. Source: Getty Images
All four Australian teams who played last weekend were beaten by foreign sides, while the Melbourne Rebels had the bye.
The Brumbies kicked off round nine with defeat in Auckland to the Blues, who claimed their first win of the year.
The Waratahs reverted to one-dimensional rugby against the adroit Stormers defence in Sydney and were convincingly swept in the second half.
The woeful Western Force lost their seventh consecutive game, to the Cheetahs in Perth, and then Queensland, now the wooden spoon favourites, lost to the Bulls in Pretoria.
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While the Hurricanes and Chiefs of New Zealand dominate the competition, and the Bulls, Stormers and Lions fight for top spot in a competitive South African conference, Australia's teams are struggling to beat anyone other than themselves.
Winning just three of 16 games against overseas rivals so far, Australia's teams have shown themselves to be significantly off the pace in a World Cup year.
Key players are underperforming and confidence is lacking across the board.
It won't get easier this weekend as the Waratahs travel to Wellington to play the runaway leaders, while the Force host the Stormers and Reds travel to Bloemfontein to take on the Cheetahs.
NSW centre Adam Ashley-Cooper, who made his return from a knee injury in the final 25 minutes of last Saturday's loss, will take on long-time Hurricanes and All Blacks rival Conrad Smith.
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"It's always good to be tested, they've got some of the best players in New Zealand playing in that backline; Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, who wouldn't want to challenge themselves against those guys?" Ashley-Cooper said.
The Waratahs, defending champions, are struggling to penetrate defences as effectively as last season.
"We're just really disappointed we've lost two at home now, we had a real focus on making this place a fortress, a really tough place to play, and we let ourselves down in a few basic areas," Ashley-Cooper said.
"There are a few issues for us to address this week ahead of a very important game against the Hurricanes.
"It doesn't get any easier. One, they are playing really good football at the moment, and two, it is over in New Zealand so the travel is going to be a challenge as well.
"It's going to be a big week, a real test of character.
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"We didn't play smart enough footy [against the Stormers], defensively they were very strong, we didn't vary up the play enough, we got a little bit one-out off the ruck, just one-off runners, very direct in our attack," Ashley-Cooper said.
"We played with limited variation which made it easier for them. They applied good pressure in defence and we didn't work around with that.
"The fundamental point in any attack is to attack the space, we knew they were going to have a very strong defensive line.
"We wanted to work inside shoulders, work the spaces in between, be persistent in our attack but also when you're doing that and not getting much pay, you've got to look to your directors to make those calls and change up the point of attack. We didn't do that and let ourselves down."
SUPER RUGBY WEAKLINGS:
Australian teams have won just three of 16 matches against overseas rivals this season
Rebels 20 def Crusaders 10
Chiefs 19 def Brumbies 17
Highlanders 20 def Reds 13
Hurricanes 42 def Force 13
Highlanders 26 def Waratahs 19
Lions 20 def Rebels 16
Bulls 25 def Force 24
Hurricanes 36 def Rebels 12
Lions 18 def Reds 17
Waratahs 23 def Blues 11
Sharks 15 def Force 9
Brumbies 20 def Cheetahs 3
Blues 16 def Brumbies 14
Stormers 32 def Waratahs 16
Cheetahs 24 def Force 15
Bulls 43 def Reds 22
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