Chiefs smash Bulls in their own backyard

The Chiefs came to Loftus Versfeld and dealt a rugby lesson to the Vodacom Bulls, smashing them 56-20 and making a mockery of their home 'fortress' of Pretoria.

It's hard to make out what exactly happened to the Bulls this week. After three massive wins against South African franchises, the wheels came off spectacularly as they were walloped by a New Zealand team in top form.

While Super Rugby will give you anomalies in the results column, this must rank as one of the biggest disappointments of the season. In a contest so one-sided, the Bulls were so poor that you'd wonder what exactly had happened to them this past week.

There was little urgency, no momentum and the body language of the home side looked lacklustre and simply off. It was as if they were disinterested and the passion and pride of the Superhero jerseys simply dissipated into the warm Highveld air.

And this was a perfect day for rugby. Conditions were perfect and the underfoot conditions good, and the Chiefs made a mockery of the Bulls' defence, running them ragged as they looked a class above and in a different league.

To think this was the same Chiefs side that lost to the Sunwolves at home and were given 50 by the Brumbies, the team at Loftus Versfeld was simply unrecognisable from what had been seen earlier in the competition.

And what to make of the Bulls? Was this a simply bad day at the office? A very bad day indeed? Or was it more a case of being found out, being exposed for their frailties and not finding a way to stand up and fight their way back into the game?

Bulls fans will be hoping it isn't the latter, a once off poor showing can be rectified but if these problems are endemic to the rest of their season it may well bring the team crashing down hard when they needed a lift-off.

The first game against New Zealand opposition was supposed to be the perfect next step for Pote Human's men. Instead it became a nightmare of epic proportions that will bring many questions for the coaching side.

It is hard to pinpoint a player who had a good game for the Bulls. Lizo Gqoboka looked hungry for action and Jesse Kriel did his best. Rosko Specman was closed down quickly and Divan Rossouw was solid.

But up front they were beaten to the breakdown, disrupted at the lineout and even when they did manage to get their own ball, they were inept at keeping it. The pack was bullied and disjointed, and it looked oh so easy for the Chiefs every time they had the ball. They had time, they had pace and they had all the tools to dismantle a poor Bulls side on a day.

The key man for the Chiefs was Damian McKenzie. The All Black with the killer smile toyed with the Bulls all day, injecting pace when it was needed and slight touches to confuse the defence. And backed by a pack that were revelling in their form, the fullback was deadly in all aspects.

It started off fairly tamely as the sides traded penalties but the Bulls' lax attitude was exposed as they dropped an up and under, only for the Chiefs to pounce and send wide for Solomon Alaimalo to go over in the corner.

Things got worse when Alex Nankivell picked up a loose pass from McKenzie to split the defence and score and captain Brodie Retallick barged his way over to give the Chiefs a 24-6 lead at the break.

The Bulls were hoping for a lift from the halftime talk but it never came with Retallick forcing his way over shortly after the break and Nankivell getting his second from a grubber through by McKenzie to have fans start leaving with a half hour to go.

Alaimalo got a yellow for a high tackle on Tim Agaba and Kriel finally got over the tryline after a chip over the defence by Pollard but it was too little too late.

Late tries by Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi and Alaimalo sealed the Bulls' fate, with Burger Odendaal getting a consolation try near the end.

But it was a day the Bulls would want to forget. And one they need to find answers to urgently.

Scorers

Vodacom Bulls – try: Jesse Kriel, Burger Odendaal. Conversions: Handre Pollard (2). Penalties: Pollard (2)

Chiefs – tries: Solomon Alaimalo (2), Alex Nankevell (2) Brodie Retallick (2), Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi. Conversions: Damien McKenzie (6). Penalties: McKenzie (3).