NSW Waratahs coach Bob Dwyer said his side had been taught an "expensive lesson" by their demoralising opening Super 12 loss to the Blues.

The Waratahs were handed a 31-18 drubbing by the Blues, as the Auckland-based side confirmed its status as one of the early title favourites.

In the all-Australian encounter in Brisbane, the ACT Brumbies, playing most of the second half with 14 men after prop Ben Darwin received his second yellow card, maintained their Super 12 dominance over Queensland with a 22-19 win.

The Stormers were the best of the South African sides, beating the Sharks 40-18, to share the top of the table position with the Crusaders and Blues after round one.

Now facing two tough matches in South Africa, NSW must regroup after a mistake-riddled performance at Aussie Stadium, where they only lost one match, the semi-final, last year.

The Waratahs were let down by woeful handling with Dwyer saying they only stuck to the game plan for eight of the 80 minutes.

But he said they would learn from the experience.

"When we did the things we said we wanted to do than we did get the result and maybe that's a terrific lesson.

"It's an expensive one, because we didn't get anything out of the game at all in terms of points, but at least we got something out of it."

Dwyer wouldn't speculate on changes for next Saturday's clash with the Cats in Bloemfontein, although rookie winger Ryan McGoldrick is a likely casualty after a horror night with Scott Staniforth to be called in.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP