The Brumbies sacked their coach after last week's loss to the Melbourne Rebels, so it'll be interesting to see what they do now after another humiliating Super Rugby defeat to Queensland.

Injuries, ill-discipline and set-piece stuff-ups were the hallmarks of the Australian sides who suffered some sobering setbacks in a considerably less than Super round of rugby for the local franchises.

All three Australian teams who went up against overseas opposition in round three were soundly beaten and exposed in critical areas.

Queensland was the only local winner and they got up in the only Australian derby of the round.

As it stands, NSW leads the Australian conference, followed by Queensland, the Brumbies, the Western Force (winless but with a bye) and Melbourne.

The Reds' 31-25 triumph over the Brumbies (seven competition points) on Saturday represented Queensland's first ever win over the ACT side in Canberra, and came despite the Brumbies scoring four tries to one.

"I think for the second week now, we've created history for another club (after their loss to new franchise the Rebels). That's not a good thing," admitted acting Brumbies skipper, Matt Giteau.

Even the Reds couldn't be totally satisfied with their performance - given the tries they leaked and the difficulty they again had in getting the ball across the line.

The Brumbies side didn't have long to come to grips with the midweek sacking of coach Andy Friend, as replacement Tony Rea watched his undisciplined side struggle at the setpiece.

Reds five-eighth Quade Cooper calmly potted seven penalties as part of a mammoth 26-point haul.

The previously unbeaten NSW Waratahs remained top of the Australian conference despite crashing 33-18 to the Crusaders in Nelson.

The Waratahs were mauled in the scrums, while losing hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau (knee) and centre Rob Horne (elbow) also suffered worrying injuries.

NSW coach Chris Hickey said the full extent of the injuries wouldn't be known until after scans on Monday, but said the Waratahs would be using their bye week to fix their scrum.

"We need to sit down and talk to the players to see what was happening out there and review the videos to see what occurred there," said Hickey.

Melbourne's joy at notching their first Super win over the Brumbies turned out to be short-lived, as the Rebels crashed 38-10 to the Chiefs in Hamilton in their first overseas fixture.

A wretched lineout display with eight throws picked off and numerous breakdown penalties awarded against the visitors, gave coach Rod Macqueen plenty to ponder.

"Every time we looked like getting back into the game, we turned the ball over a the set piece, so we've definitely got some work to do," Macqueen said.

The Force lost 39-12 to the impressive Sharks in Perth, where the home team played most of the match with 14 men. Replacement back Rory Sidey was sent off for an 18th minute lifting tackle on Sharks winger Odwa Ndungane.

Sidey, who was onto replace Mitch Inman (elbow) will face a SANZAR judiciary hearing on Monday on a dangerous tackling charge.

But the Force face an even more significant problem, with outstanding openside flanker David Pocock (knee) taken off inside the first 10 minutes and now facing the possibility of a stint on the sidelines.

"Hopefully for the boys sake and the team's sake they're not long-term injuries," Graham said.

"Pocock is hard to tell (the extent of the injury), Inman may be two to three weeks.

"It's where depth comes into it. We'll assess where we're at tomorrow and make decisions early in the week."

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