Tight Five: Sloppy Waratahs drop off their own standards

The Waratahs' title defence fizzed, smoked and spluttered to a frustrating false start on Sunday as a well-drilled Western Force put on a four-try reminder that a trophy means nothing when fresh battle lines are drawn.

A despondent Michael Cheika said the blame rested squarely on his shoulders, that he did not assess his side's preparedness correctly and that the reigning champions "weren't angry enough" when the Force came hunting for a major scalp.

Cheika said he and the NSW coaches would go back to basics in their short preparation for the Rebels in Melbourne on Friday, but shot down questions about the impact of his role with the Wallabies.

"It's irrelevant that stuff … This is about what's happening in training and how or what our plan is. None of that has anything to do with it," he said.

"The reality is there is plenty of time to be focusing on what you need to win rugby matches. And that's part of myself and the players getting our heads on and saying this is the area we need to be early good at against this team and making sure that happens."

First-game fumbles are no cause for wholescale alarm, and Cheika kept his side a long time in the dressing room to ensure the pain of such a comedown had time aplenty to sink in.

But a 25-13 scoreboard - the side's first home loss since the back end of 2013 - said it all. When the reigning champions assumed they could reach for some of that 2014 magic the cupboard was bare.

"Maybe that was our problem, maybe we thought we'd done enough and had to go through the motions, I don't know," captain Dave Dennis said.

"I think we just weren't angry enough to be honest," Cheika said. "You've got to get angry in this game, it's a contact sport. We weren't angry enough today and it was pretty clear."

Starved of possession, the Waratahs created opportunities where they could, but stumbled when it came time to strike.

There was none of the "finesse" Michael Cheika had called for, except up front. The Waratahs' Argentine guest, Mario Ledesma, has already upped the efficacy of the side's scrum.

"I want the team to play really well, I'm very disappointed for our supporters who were out in droves," Cheika said. "Not because we lost but we because we didn't play the way that we play. That's something that I don't like the feeling of."

This was the second time in the opening round a side that played together through the National Rugby Championship was able to upset a flashier, more fancied opponent.

The Force, just like the Rebels, lost few of their squad to Test duties last year and the extra time in each other's company can't have hurt. Between them, Australian rugby's "underperformers" dispensed with last year's champions and runners up (Crusaders) in the opening round.

Nobody's perfect, but the Force chipped away and piled on pressure in defence and came away with a four-try bonus point thanks to the efforts of Chris Alcock, Angus Cottrell, Luke Morahan and Francois van Wyk.

Coach Michael Foley, who confirmed discussions were ongoing between he and Cheika about a coaching role with the Wallabies, said he was proud of his side's performance.

"You come into a game like this knowing what sort of a challenge it is, you're playing the best team in the comp at their home, first up, which we did last year, and you know what it's going to take," Foley said.

"Your footy's not going to be perfect at this time of the year, and I take my hat off to the courage that shown out there. I thought the defence was magnificent."

Force prop Pek Cowan will require scans on his neck and spine after being injured in a scrum and stretchered off the field in the 24th minute.

Winger Rob Horne provided the only scoreboard solace for the home side, scoring two tries, while even last year's ice man Bernard Foley found his radar off, missing all but one shot at goal.