Canterbury have demolished a 14-man Taranaki 36-5 in a heated encounter at AAMI Park in Christchurch.
In just the fifth minute, a lengthy melee involving the majority of the players from both sides resulted in a red card to Taranaki's Jarrad Hoeata for striking.
That essentially put an end to the contest as the hosts proceeded to run in five tries to one to notch a bonus point victory.
But not before the referee was forced to show a red card the other way, with Canterbury's Dan Lienert-Brown judged to have head-butted hooker Ricky Riccitelli.
Braydon Ennor continued his rich vein of form, setting up one of his outside Ngane Punivai's two tries on the night.
Taranaki's only try came from an intercept by Jayson Potroz in the dying stages of the game.
The win returns Canterbury to the top of the Mitre 10 Cup premiership standings.
Newshub.
