The Bulls climbed into third place after demolishing Connacht at Loftus, and the Lions and Sharks followed suit with big wins at home in round 6 of the Vodacom URC.
The Lions tore apart visiting Zebre Parma, scoring nine tries in a 61-19 victory in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The hosts enjoyed 68% of the possession and had 62% territorial advantage, while they broke the Italians’ defensive line 13 times and beat 32 defenders in the process, playing the kind of attacking rugby they are renowned for.
On an afternoon when several Lions players impressed, No 8 Francke Horn was the pick of The Pride, combining power and poise to perfection and capping an eye-catching display with a try and an assist.
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Later, the Vodacom Bulls smashed Connacht 53-27 in Pretoria, with veteran fullback Willie le Roux scoring one of seven tries in his team debut.
Fellow World Cup-winning Springboks Marco van Staden and Canan Moodie also made a difference for the men in blue, whose victory saw them take a six-point lead at the top of the SA Shield.
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Finally, the Sharks put the cherry on top with their returning Boks adding the necessary impetus as they scored 10 tries in a 69-14 victory over Dragons in Durban.
Five of those tries were scored in the final 20 minutes, when they opened the taps to record their first win of the season.
The only blip on the SA radar was the Stormers’ 31-24 defeat to Cardiff in Wales on Friday night, a match that head coach John Dobson admitted afterwards they had let slip away.
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The Capetonians edged the hosts in the territorial and possession stakes, and earned a losing bonus point for their efforts, but that was scant consolation at the end of a winless four-match tour in Europe.
The Bulls have moved back into the top three on the log with 20 points, behind leaders Glasgow (25) and second-placed Leinster (24). The Lions are currently in 10th spot on 14 points, followed by the Stormers (12th, 13), while the Sharks have climbed off the bottom of the table and are in 14th on seven points.
Looking ahead to round 7, the Bulls and Sharks clash in Pretoria on Saturday, before the Lions host Dragons at Ellis Park, and then the Stormers lock horns with Zebre in Stellenbosch.
Round 6 results:
Cardiff 31-24 Stormers
Lions 61-19 Zebre Parma
Bulls 53-27 Connacht
Sharks 69-14 Dragons
Edinburgh 22-24 Benetton
Leinster 21-16 Munster
Glasgow Warriors 33-20 Ulster
Ospreys 31-9 Scarlets
Round 7 fixtures:
Friday
Munster vs Glasgow Warriors (9:35pm)
Saturday
Bulls vs Sharks (3pm)
Cardiff vs Scarlets (5pm)
Lions vs Dragons (5:05pm)
Ulster vs Edinburgh (7:15pm)
Stormers vs Zebre (7:15pm)
Connacht vs Leinster (9:35pm)
Benetton vs Ospreys (9:35pm)
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter