Round Two of the Gallagher PREM produced some huge performances, but it was a weekend to forget for several established names.
Bristol Bears made a major statement by beating defending champions Northampton Saints 41-26, while Gloucester stunned Harlequins with a remarkable 48-0 victory at Kingsholm.
Sale Sharks also produced one of the results of the weekend, winning 21-17 away at Saracens despite being reduced to 13 men during a chaotic opening period.
There were some brutal individual ratings across the weekend, too.
Here are five players who endured a difficult Round Two.
5. Stephen Varney – Exeter Chiefs
Varney went from try-scorer to villain during Exeter's dramatic 40-34 defeat against Bath at The Rec.
The scrum-half crossed during the first half and Exeter eventually overturned a 26-10 deficit to lead after the break.
However, the game swung again when Varney deliberately knocked down a pass with Bath threatening close to the line.
Sky Sports reported that the resulting yellow card proved decisive, with Bath also awarded a penalty try.
It was a costly moment after Exeter had done so much work to get themselves back into the contest.
4. Fergus Burke – Saracens
Saracens will wonder how they allowed this one to get away from them.
Sale were reduced to 13 men during the opening period at StoneX Stadium, yet the hosts failed to take full advantage.
Burke struggled to consistently get the Saracens attack firing from fly-half and missed two conversions as Sale eventually claimed a 21-17 victory.
In RUCK's Saracens vs Sale player ratings, Burke's limited attacking opportunities and failure to execute were highlighted as areas of concern.
With Owen Farrell working his way back towards matchday contention, Burke will want a response sooner rather than later.
3. George Furbank – Harlequins
A nightmare start.
Furbank's Harlequins debut could hardly have gone much worse from a team perspective as Gloucester produced one of the most emphatic results of the season.
Quins were beaten 48-0 at Kingsholm, failing to register a single point as Gloucester ran in eight tries.
It was a performance Harlequins boss Jason Gilmore described as "unacceptable", with The Times revealing that Quins conceded a staggering 21 penalties compared to Gloucester's five.
Furbank did have some encouraging early touches, so it would be unfair to pin the collapse on him individually.
But after making the high-profile summer switch from Northampton, this was certainly not the opening statement the England international would have wanted to make.
RUCK's Gloucester player ratings tell the story from the other side, with Jac Morgan and Charlie Atkinson both receiving 9/10.
2. Ollie Sleightholme – Northampton Saints
A really difficult afternoon for the England winger.
Sleightholme struggled to make his usual impact as Northampton were beaten 41-26 by Bristol at Ashton Gate.
One particularly costly moment saw him spill a bouncing ball when Saints had an opportunity to apply further pressure.
RugbyPass handed Sleightholme a brutal 4/10 rating, highlighting the handling error and three penalties conceded before he was replaced after 53 minutes.
After Northampton's explosive start to the campaign, this represented a sizeable drop-off.
1. Tommy Freeman – Northampton Saints
From RUCK's Team of the Week to our flops list in the space of seven days.
Freeman was sensational in Round One.
The England star scored a hat-trick in Northampton's demolition of Newcastle Red Bulls, earning himself a place in RUCK's Gallagher PREM Team of the Week.
Seven days later, it was a completely different story.
Operating at full-back against Bristol, Freeman struggled to exert the same influence as the Bears put the defending champions under sustained pressure.
His afternoon ended on an especially frustrating note.
With Louis Rees-Zammit chasing his own kick towards the Northampton line, Freeman took out the Wales international and was shown a yellow card, with Bristol awarded a penalty try.
The incident helped seal Bristol's victory, with Planet Rugby highlighting Freeman among their losers from the contest.
It completed a dramatic reversal for Freeman.
Round One: hat-trick and RUCK Team of the Week.
Round Two: yellow card and a place among our five who flopped.
Rugby can turn quickly.
