The Blue Bulls made it two from two in as many seasons when they successfully defended the Carling Currie Cup title against the Sharks in a one-sided final in Pretoria on Saturday.

The same two teams that contested the 2020 final were in action again at the end of the 2021 season, but unlike the last time, when the winner was only determined after 100 minutes of nail-biting rugby, the Blue Bulls simply had too much class for the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening.

The hosts outscored their opponents by six tries to one, scoring three five-pointers on either side of the break to ensure they never lost control of the match.

The points difference of 34 was also bigger than the previous record of 30, set by the Blue Bulls (then still called Northern Transvaal) when they beat Western Province, 39-9, in the final in 1980.

It was also the first time since the early 2000s that a team managed to successfully defend the Carling Currie Cup title, when the Blue Bulls won it outright for three straight seasons (2002, 2003 and 2004).

“That was probably close to a perfect performance, based on the fact that we took chances when they were given to us, and when questions were asked of us, we made the right reads,” said Jake White, the Bulls’ Director of Rugby.

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