Canterbury have thrown down a Farah Palmer Cup gauntlet with an 85-10 demolition of Otago in Christchurch.
The reigning competition champions ran riot on Sunday afternoon scoring 13 tries against the hapless blues and golds.
Winger Martha Lolohea and skipper Alana Bremner scored doubles as the red and blacks retained the JJ Stewart Trophy - the equivalent of the Ranfurly Shield.
Otago never recovered from a three-try Canterbury blitz within the first 10 minutes, including one to former Otago No.8 Angie Sisifa.
By halftime the lead was 47-5, and despite some second-half resistance from the visitors, three late Canterbury tries completed a near-perfect performance from the home side.
Elsewhere, Wellington hammered Hawke's Bay 67-17 and Taranaki completed a 32-29 win over winless North Harbour.
