The ACT Brumbies have heaped further misery on the Queensland Reds, cruising to a 29-0 bonus point win at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
The beleaguered Reds showed plenty of heart but were still blown away by the Australian Super Rugby conference leaders, who ran in five tries - including a double to front-rower Ben Alexander.
The win sets up the Brumbies for a tantalising clash next week with the second-placed Waratahs, who were upset by the Highlanders earlier on Saturday.
To make matters worse on yet another miserable evening for the Reds, flanker Liam Gill could be facing a lengthy stretch on the sidelines for what appeared to be a professional wrestling-style throw of Nic White in the second half.
Their only solace is that they have the bye next week, and that up to seven injured stars could return for the next assignment on March 27 against the Lions.
The Reds promised all week there would be no repeat of their 47-3 round one humiliation at the hands of the Brumbies.
And while their intent was much more stark the second time around, there was still not enough polish to trouble the Canberra-based outfit.
The omens were there when Queensland's remarkable injury list claimed yet another victim before the game had even begun - reserve prop Ben Daley (shoulder), who was a late withdrawal and was replaced on the bench by rookie Pettowa Paraka.
Despite a clear-eyed start by the home side the mistakes were still strewn through Queensland's game, allowing the Brumbies to take a decisive grasp on possession and territory.
The Brumbies claimed what felt like an inevitable lead through skipper Stephen Moore, who bundled over after 20 minutes to make it 5-0.
That lead was doubled by Alexander's first try seven minutes later - and it could have been much worse for the Reds had Christian Lealiifano not missed his three first-half attempts on goal.
Any chance of a Queensland comeback evaporated not long after the resumption of play with another Alexander try and Gill's startling brain fade, which earned him a spell in the sin bin.
An opportunistic Alexander leaped over the mess of bodies left behind by Gill's dangerous throw on White to touch down and complete his brace.
Ita Vaea soon added another but it was Lealiifano's 73rd-minute effort that told the story of the night.
Lealiifano pounced on a dropped ball from Dave McDuling in the middle of the park and then streaked away to score under the posts - prompting a mass exodus from a fed-up crowd.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said he was delighted to see his side run over the top of Queensland after a patchy first half.
"We turned it around at half-time, I thought the second half was fantastic," Larkham said.
"I thought there was some really good attack in that second half.
"Defensively at the end, it was unbelievable. We had the whole bench on the field and that discipline and desperation on the line was something to be very proud of."
Reds coach Richard Graham was left to rue his side's sloppy execution, which stopped them from seizing their few chances to put a dent on the scoreboard.
"We simplified the way that we wanted to play and I thought that the physicality and some of our other work was very good," Graham said.
"But there were a couple of really good opportunities in both halves we didn't capitalise on."
