The Melbourne Rebels first taste of Super Rugby ended in a heavy defeat as Australian rivals the Waratahs cruised to a 43 v 0 at the AAMI Stadium.
The Rebels had started their debut game in fine for during the first quarter but the Waratahs had far too much class on the night running in seven tries.
Former Wales number 8 Gareth Devle and England fly-half Danny Cipriani both played their part, the later from the bench.
It took the Waratahs 25 minutes to break down the Rebels defence, Kurtley Beale touching down after a powerful break from Phil Waugh.
Berrick Barnes’s perfectly weighted cross-field kick fell into the waiting hands of Drew Mitchell for the Sydney-side’s second score, Barnes was again off target with the conversion as the Waratahs went into the break 10 v 0.
Rebels hooker Ged Robinson was sin-binned early in the second period and no sooner was he off the pitch were the hosts grabbing their third try, Tatafu Polota-Nau adding his name to the scoresheet.
The fourth try and all-important bonus point arrived just a minute later, Mitchell grabbing his second, Barnes added his first conversion of the evening.
Beale scored his second and centre Rob Horne touched down before Waugh rounded off the rout with a try from a driving maul as the Waratahs claimed the maximum five points on offer.
In the other Friday night match down under, the Highlands came away with a 14 v 9 victory away to Hurricanes. Fly-half Lima Sopoaga scoring a try and two penalties in his 11-point haul.
