The NSW Waratahs have come crashing back to earth with a crushing 42-14 Super Rugby Pacific loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton.
After snapping an eight-match losing streak against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra, the Waratahs travelled to Waikato chasing another hoodoo-busting win to regain a place in the competition's top six and solidify their title credentials.
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Instead, Dan McKellar's men will return to Sydney with tails between their legs after leaving the coach once again shaking his head in anguish on Saturday.
A nothing kick-away of the ball from flyhalf Jack Debrezceni after tireless flanker Charlie Gamble had done brilliantly to win back possession typified the latest Tahs horror show in another frustrating season of highs and lows.
"The first half there's a lot of times where we gave ourselves opportunities, and just a few dropped balls, a bit of skill execution, when we need to finish off against the Chiefs," said rueful skipper Matt Philip.
"They don't give you that many opportunities and we played a lot of rugby in our end and we couldn't win that physical battle.
"We can't have the Chiefs, who are such a good attacking side, living in our 22. We're going to let up points eventually."
The Tahs last won in Hamilton in 2014 - the year the franchise claimed their one and only title - and had high hopes of another famous victory after taking down the then-ladder-leading Chiefs in Sydney last year.
But the visitors were never truly in the contest after heading to the sheds trailing 24-7 at the break.
The Chiefs jagged the first try of the night when Waratahs fullback Sid Harvey, a goalkicking hero in last week's 30-28 win over the Brumbies, was unable to clean up a probing Xavier Rie kick as winger Kyren Taumoefolau pounced to score.
A Josh Jacomb penalty extended the lead to 8-0, before the Waratahs had their only joy of the opening half when Harvey fielded a 20-metre pass from Max Jorgensen to cross in the left corner.
Two more strikes from hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho and centre Quinn Tupaea and another Jacomb penalty earned the Chiefs their commanding 18-point halftime lead.
Not even the introduction of Wallabies pair Jake Gordon and Folau Faingaa straight after the interval could swing back the momentum as Tupaea crossed again, before flanker Samipeni Finau secured the Chiefs a bonus point and third spot on the table.
Pete Samu bagged a consolation try as the Waratahs slumped to eighth on the ladder nearing the halfway point of the season, before the Chiefs had the final say through another five-pointer from Taumoefolau.
"Look, when we play our game and execute our roles, we do some good things. We saw that last week in Canberra," Philip said.
"But unfortunately we couldn't take the momentum and we dropped off a bit tonight and weren't good enough, so we'll be reviewing that hard into the bye this week.
"We're going to still look at those 80-minute performances, the last passes, and a little bit about discipline as well."
