The Vodacom Bulls laid down a big marker in the build-up to the URC playoffs with an impressive nine-try victory over a youthful and inexperienced Leinster who suffered their first loss of their URC campaign.

The result, albeit against an inexperienced Leinster side without their Irish Test stars - temporarily saw the team from Pretoria move up to fifth on the log.

The play-offs are still around the corner, and it is next week’s Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse that holds much of Leo Cullen’s attentions.

The Leinster head coach was back in Dublin while Sean O’Brien filled the void in South Africa and as many front liners sat out, it was another opportunity for the Ireland U20 contingent to show their considerable promise.

The hosts' first-half performance, built on the back of their powerful pack, was probably one of their best yet in the competition as they scored four tries to race into a commanding lead.

With their forwards laying the foundation, the backs made the most of the front-foot ball and hit holes in the Leinster defence with good running lines and clever kicking.

Johan Goosen got the scoreboard rolling with a seventh minute penalty goal after a good start, and then Ruan Nortje scored their first try after 15 minutes following more pressure.

Kurt-Lee Arendse then grabbed a brace of tries in eight minutes, the first from a superb blind-side attack and the second from an intercept by Elrigh Louw in their own 22.

Johan Grobbelaar scored the bonus-point five-pointer on the stroke of halftime and Goosen added the fourth conversion to bring up 30 points.

Grobbelaar brought up his brace 80 seconds after the restart with the Vodacom Bulls playing superb rugby with pin-point offloads keeping the Leinster defence guessing.

This was followed by two more tries in 10 minutes by a soaring Canan Moodie from a superb cross-kick and Stedman Gans to take the hosts' lead to 48-0, before Leinster finally found some rhythm with Michael Milne scoring their first points in the 54th minute with a converted try.

It was a short-lived revival though, as the Vodacom Bulls then scored two more quick tries, by Harold Vorster from a slick backline move on the back of another dominant scrum, and Moodie to see the scoreboard tick over to 62-7 with just under 20 minutes to go.

The match fizzled out after that as replacements took the field, but the supporters at Loftus probably didn't care too much as it looks like the Vodacom Bulls are hitting form again at the right time of the season.