Bulls' Springbok infusion crucial to stopping the rot as wayward Griquas are thrashed

The rot stops at ten matches.

Jake White's first match officially in charge of the Bulls' Currie Cup outfit - though the talent in their match-day was undeniably URC-quality - ended with a morale-boosting and ultimately comprehensive 40-3 victory over Griquas at Loftus on Friday evening.

Forced to knuckle down after a week of searching questions over his long-term project and the optics of demoting Edgar Marutlulle, who'd taken charge of the team for the first four rounds, the franchise's director of rugby expressed his faith in his group as well as his own abilities, while also making a few eye-catching claims.

One of them - that the Bulls' squad requires an infusion of Springbok class - was criticised in some quarters because of the perception of some lavish spending over the past three years, but the wily former Springbok coach was proven right to some extent in this match.

The presence of Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie, the side's two regular national players currently, made a huge difference.

Arendse was electrifying as ever, providing two try assists with some incisive and slippery counter-attacking play, the first from a superb run on the right touchline from an agonising Griquas turnover - Gustav du Rand's off-load merely needed to stick to Luther Obi for a scoring opportunity - before putting the Bulls on their way in the second half, audaciously wriggling out of contact when a tactical kick seemed an easier option.

His run led to David Kriel cruising in a few passes later.

Meanwhile, Moodie was full of initiative and two of his chips into space put the visitors' wobbly defensive line under huge pressure.

The 20-year-old's reads on defence unmistakably bore the mark of a player operating on a higher level than many