The Airlink Pumas demolished the Vodacom Bulls 15-63 (HT 8-27) in a one-sided Currie Cup outing at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.
The defending champions were scintillating in Pretoria as they ran in nine tries to the hapless Bulls' two in the Round One fixture.
The Pumas were clearly out to make a statement. They produced a clinical display perfectly combined with flair in an entertaining half of Round-One rugby, while their breakdown contesting was a standout in the opening half. The fact that the Bulls just couldn't maintain possession played well into the favour of the Pumas, who need no invitation to turn scraps into attacking opportunities.
It's not even that the Bulls were extremely poor - at least not in the first half - the Pumas were just that good.
They got the first try after some nifty lineout work to go 3-8 up 15 minutes in.
It was the Bulls who capatalised at the set-piece early in the second quarter to level the scores, with the Pumas butchering their defensive lineout (8-8). But that was one of the few mistakes the men in pink made.
The Pumas wasted absolutely no time in hitting back with a stunner of a try as the Mpumalanga side took the ball through the hands on the blindside (8-13).
They showed no signs of stopping and visited the Bulls' in-goal for the third time (8-20), and unfortunately for the Bulls, that wasn't all the visitors were willing to settle for before halftime.
The Pumas pocketed the bonus-point try to boast a commanding 8-27 lead at the sound of the siren.
As lethal as the Pumas were before the break, they were brutally devastating after coming out of the shed.
Their counter-attack, support play, slick hands and ability to keep the ball alive saw them torment the Bulls in the second half. But as good as they were when they had the oval in hand, they were just as exemplary with the work they put in without it. Their tackles stripped the Bulls of any bit of momentum they could hope to build.
The Pumas sparked what would became another series of tries with a top touch-down in the 44th minute (8-34).
They turned the game - or at least their performance - into the perfect advertisement for rugby as they continued to humiliate the Bulls with four more tries to take the score to 8-63 with 10 minutes to play.
At this point, as the score so clearly points out, the Bulls were absolutely nowhere.
They got only their second try in the 75th minute, but it proved nothing more than consolation as their lack of form in this game prevented them from ending on some any kind of high.
Point-scorers:
Bulls - Tries: Mosi, Hendricks Conversion: Steyn Penalty: Steyn
Pumas - Tries: Swart, Snyman, De Klerk, Stighling, Williams, Fouché, Apollis (2), Kleynhans Conversions: De Beer (4), Thompson, Snyman Penalties: De Beer (2)