The Vodacom Bulls not only were solidly beaten but totally embarrassed as they heralded South Africa’s entry into Europe in the worst possible fashion, losing 35-8 to Benetton Treviso in the Rainbow Cup final on Saturday night.
There is no other way to say it. They were soundly beaten. They were never in the game, and they were embarrassed.
The aura of South African teams being invincible has been shattered. In Super Rugby, there were the Australian sides that would bring solace while the New Zealand teams would dominate Super Rugby, but that was understandable.
But South Africans always had pride that despite the professional setup in Europe, the local talent was unmatched.
And on Saturday night, that was shattered.
Benetton are not the best side in Europe. Far from it. The only solace from Saturday night’s performance is that it possibly couldn’t get worse. This wasn’t Leinster in their prime.
And perhaps that is a good thing. The pride and arrogance that often filters through South African rugby has been shattered.
Benetton are nothing more than a professional side that play by the percentages.
The Bulls in this final never got close to their own standard, and thus they were embarrassed.
The thought that they should beat an Italian side because they are an Italian side was not only shown up, but was also a massive wake-up call for South African sides in the competition.
In short, the Pro14 standard is professional, it is high and it is clinical. While the Bulls were expected to struggle with the heat, the travel and the appearance of fans for the first time in 15 months, nobody expected this.
If the scoreline was closer it may have been acceptable.
Instead, it was a wake-up call for the rest of the South African teams. It was a sobering slap in the face. It showed that when it comes to Europe, there is a long way to go.
It is understandable in a way. The last eight months have seen local derby on local derby and like in the years of isolation, we have told ourselves we are good enough.
While the world has progressed in its game plan and had international influence, the local game has suffered and not only in the interpretation of referees.
To be clear, Frank Murphy wasn’t the best and far off the standard, but he was a few floors above the Bulls performance.
No Bulls fan worth an opinion would blame a ref. Instead, they should look within and ask why the Bulls attack looked so stunted? Why was Marcell Coetzee so anonymous during the game and why did the Bulls line out panic?
All of it points to a Benetton performance which was not only disciplined, but professional and taught the Bulls more than a lesson or two.
It was a night that will be remembered for the ages in Treviso, in Italy and beyond. For South Africa, it was a performance that ranked in the Allister Coetzee era.
And there will be those who rightly say imagine if this performance was in Aotearoa rugby, what would the score be then?
From the moment Monty Ioane scored in the corner, the Bulls were under pressure, but despite going down 8-0 they clawed their way back when Madosh Tambwe went over from the back of a ruck, in totally uncharacteristic fashion.
At 8-8, it was a momentum shift and it looked as if the Bulls were on their way back.
But in an amateur mistake, Marcell Coetzee let a ball sail over his head into the corner, and the lineout was slapped back and Ivan van Zyl missed it, allowing former Bull Corniel Els to dot down under his nose.
What should have been a moment when the Bulls sought parity became a comedic error and set the tone for the rest of the match.
And it just got worse from that.
Michele Lamaro added a try and Edoardo Padovani added another. In short, there was just one team in this game. There was a penalty try on the stroke of halftime that couldn't be argued. It was so obvious.
The Bulls were never in it, and will head back to South Africa with their tails between their legs.
SCORERS Benetton Treviso - tries: Monty Ioane, Michele Lamaro, Edoardo Padovani, Corniel Els, penalty try. Conversions: Paolo Garbisi. Penalties: Garbisi (2) Vodacom Bulls - try: Madosh Tambwe. Penalty: Chris Smith.