A weekend of bombshells: England, Bulls embarrassed at home as Crusaders suffer shock defeat

• A few shock results headlined the past weekend's rugby action across the globe.
• France dazzled with a record 53-10 win over England, while Super Rugby powerhouses the Crusaders suffered a shock defeat to Fijian Drua.
• On the local front, the Pumas produced a Currie Cup masterclass to annihilate the Bulls 63-15 at Loftus.

Local rugby fans may have missed the URC, but there was no shortage of action in what turned out to be a crazy weekend of rugby.

South Africa's four frontline URC franchises weren't in action, but there was still the opening round of the Currie Cup, the Six Nations and a bit of Super Rugby Pacific to look forward to.

All three events conjured up some scintillating action and there were also some notable shock results.

On Saturday morning, arguably the biggest shock of the weekend came in Super Rugby Pacific where defending champions Crusaders suffered a last-gasp 25-24 defeat to Fijian Drua in Lautoka, Fiji.

The Fijian Drua only joined Super Rugby last year and finished second from bottom, winning only two of 14 games.

But they upset the apple cart in dramatic fashion when debutant replacement flyhalf Kemu Valetini slotted the winning penalty after the hooter.

The Six Nations also produced drama on Saturday night when France demolished England 53-10. The fact that France won was not the upset, but rather the manner in which they went about doing so.

The 43-point margin of defeat was England's heaviest home loss, topping the 36-point gap inflicted by South Africa in the Springboks' 42-6 success at Twickenham in 2008.

And this humiliating thrashing was also England's third-worst loss anywhere.

Only a 76-0 rout suffered by an under-strength team against Australia in Brisbane on the 1998 'Tour from Hell' and a 58-10 defeat by South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2007 surpassed this reverse in England's 152 years as a Test rugby nation.

It was also Les Bleus' biggest-winning margin over England, surpassing the 25-point gaps achieved in a 37-12 rout in 1972 and a 31-6 walloping in 2006.

The Currie Cup also started this past weekend and there were some impressive performances by the Cheetahs, who floored Griquas 42-19 in Kimberley, and Western Province, who thumped the Lions 44-28 in Johannesburg. 

But the biggest standout performance was defending champions Pumas' 63-15 annihilation of the Bulls in Pretoria on Sunday.

WRAP | Currie Cup - Round 1

It was a massive statement from the Pumas. Yes, they weren't playing against the Bulls' first-choice line-up but the hosts still fielded several players with URC experience.

The likes of skipper Morne Steyn, Sbu Nkosi, Wandisile Simelane, David Kriel, Lionel Mapoe, Cornal Hendricks, Lizo Gqoboka and Jacques du Plessis are household names.

In his first outing has Currie Cup head coach for the Bulls, Edgar Marutlulle will feel a bit shell-shocked having been humiliated by a so-called "smaller union" at their home fortress on Sunday.