Ayumu Goromaru came off the bench to score five points in his Super Rugby debut on Saturday, but could not turn the tide as the Queensland Reds lost their season opener to the New South Wales Waratahs 30-10 in Sydney.
Japan teammate Hendrik Tui put in a solid 79 minutes after starting at flanker, while Goromaru entered in the 26th minute with the Reds trailing 20-0. He opened his Super Rugby account in the 44th minute with a penalty goal.
"I wanted to get into the game as early as possible, and I'm happy I could play a long time," Goromaru said. "I did some things well and other things poorly.
"Comparing this to Japan's domestic league, I felt the power and such are at the highest level in the world."
Goromaru just missed a long-range penalty before converting Jake McIntyre's 59th-minute try. But within minutes a superb effort by Waratahs' scrum half Nick Phipps secured a final try and a bonus point.