Super Rugby: Waratahs wilt but Reds prevail again

Brad Thorn is enjoying early success with the Reds. Photo / Getty Images

The Waratahs are facing a huge Super Rugby test against the unbeaten, new-look Melbourne Rebels after their undefeated start to the season was shattered in a 38-28 loss to the Jaguares.

The match in Buenos Aires yesterday was reminiscent of so many in the Waratahs' abysmal 2017 campaign, in which they frequently conceded sizeable leads and found themselves chasing the game.

The Jaguares scored four tries in the opening quarter, including the first within 17 seconds, to rush to a 22-0 lead.

Tries either side of the final hooter from replacement forward Nick Palmer and fullback Israel Folau, added a veneer of respectability to the scoreline, but had no impact on the result.

With one last-gasp win over the Stormers, a draw against the Sharks and now a loss, the Waratahs are already nine points adrift of Australian conference leaders the Rebels, who they host on Sunday afternoon.

Stung by criticism from Argentine great Hugo Porta that they were a team with no soul, the Jaguares recorded their first win in four matches, ending their worst start since joining the competition in 2016.

"I felt the Jaguares capitalised on a lot of our errors," Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson said. "There was stuff there that you'd say is largely preventable."

●By contrast, Reds coach and fellow former All Black Brad Thorn said he was delighted with how his team of "projects" was responding as they prepare to test their credentials on the road for the first time.

The Reds beat the Bulls 20-14 in another terrific display built on sturdy defence and a monster scrum to record their first back-to-back wins in almost four years.

Even without four of their best players - Scott Higginbotham, Izaia Perese, Lukhan Tui and George Smith - Thorn's young guns rose to the occasion, clawing from 14-3 down to continue a hugely encouraging start to the season.

"A lot of pleasing stuff, once again," Thorn said. "The scrum, [I'm] just loving where that's going. We've got to keep working hard but it's a good weapon there.

The Reds, who have finished no higher than 13th in the past four years, face the Jaguares this weekend and then the Stormers in Cape Town.

- AAP