IT was a round from the depths of hell for Australian rugby; winless for the first time in more than a decade, embarrassed on the scoreboard and shamed by the latest chapter of a season-long dominance by Kiwi teams. 
But Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson believes there is no -reason to panic or need to copy New Zealand's style, saying that Australian rugby remains competitive and the cycle will turn.
"How quickly we forget that last year the Brumbies and the Waratahs were both semi--finalists," Gibson said.
It was very hard to remember sunnier days after the darkest weekend in Australia's Super Rugby history. All the sides were beaten in a round for the first time since 2005 with a majority of teams thrashed by Kiwi rivals.
The Rebels wilted in a record 85-26 loss to the Crusaders, the Reds were pumped 50-5 by the Chiefs and leading Aussie side the Brumbies were downed 40-15 by the lowest-ranked team in New Zealand, the Blues. The Waratahs and Force fought harder but also lost to the Hurricanes and Stormers.
The Aussie teams conceded 225 points and 33 tries in total but amazingly it wasn't definitively the worst weekend on record as far as points go.
On the weekend of NSW's 96-19 loss in Christchurch in 2002, the then three Aussie sides conceded an average of more than 50 points each.
But the Brumbies actually won their game in that round, and given NSW had a big win on the weekend that Queensland lost 92-3 in 2007, the "sorry sixteenth" round of 2016 takes the rightful place at the bottom of the barrel.
What confirms it is that the trans-Tasman results were only the latest chapter in a sorry season of Kiwi dominance. Australia has only won three of 24 games this year, and even with a round left that trumps the previous worst of six out of 20 in 2007.Australian teams won seven out of 22 against the Kiwis in 2015 and 11 out of 22 in 2014.