Bulls go from bruisers to ballers with magnificent attacking play to thrash Scarlets

A glance at the Bulls' point scorers in their 57-12 mauling of the Scarlets in their United Rugby Championship meeting at Loftus on Friday night would suggest a traditional bruising, forward-orientated performance.

After all, six members of home side's pack crossed the whitewash.

SCORECARD | United Rugby Championship - Bulls v Scarlets

It couldn't have been further from the truth.

For the past two years, Jake White, the Bulls' director of rugby, has emphasised that one of the pillars of his project in Hatfield would be the cultivation of a varied game-plan - in other words, forward power would be complemented by silky attacking play.

And boy, did Marcell Coetzee and his team-mates deliver on the night.

Some might point out that the Scarlets have been weakened by international call-ups, but that argument doesn't hold water when seven internationals were in the starting XV.

No passage of play exemplified the Bulls' sublime attacking ability from deep than hooker Johan Grobbelaar's second try in the 51st minute.

From a defensive scrum, pivot Chris Smith launched a cross kick that freed up rookie winger Canan Moodie, who then fed fullback and sevens star Kurt-Lee Arendse as play was shifted to the half-way line in a flash.

Scrumhalf Zak Burger found inside centre Harold Vorster, who niftily unleashed the rampaging Elrigh Louw in a charge that had the Welsh side at sixes and sevens.

Burger was on hand to keep the move going as prop Jacques van Rooyen produced a magnificent off-load for Grobbelaar.

A 80m move of pure magic.

Indeed, throughout the night the Bulls would literally run themselves out of their own half, particularly in the first half where the relentless trio of Arendse, outside centre Cornal Hendricks and wing Madosh Tambwe