The Cats produced one of the best ever displays by a South African team in the Vodacom Super 12 when they demolished the Highlanders 56-21 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The home side outscored the visiting New Zealanders by seven tries to two, showing they have the talent to go all the way to the final this year.

They displayed some great handling skills, but like most South African teams, their defence was the main weapon. They knocked the stuffing out of the Highlanders, tackling them back and turning over the ball almost at will.

The Cats took a while to get started with Louis Koen and opposite number Tony Brown swopping penalty kicks. They scored the first of their seven tries in the 20th minute when Koen dived over in the corner after some quick thinking by scrumhalf Chad Alcock.

Bok flanker Andre Venter extended the lead to eleven points a couple of minutes later when he handed off Jeff Wilson to score under the posts, before Dean Hall "pulled a Jonah Lomu" on opposite number Iliesa Tanivula for the third try.

The burly winger got the ball standing still, accelerated between two defenders and ran straight over Tanivulu to dot down under the crossbar. Koen's conversion gave the Cats a handy 21-point lead at the break.

The home side continued their dominance after the break with Kleinjan Tromp, a first half substitute for Jannes Labuschagne, barging over after some more good work by Man of the Match Alcock.

That try gave the Cats a bonus point, but they were still far from finished. Right wing Wylie Human capitalised on a misunderstanding by the Highlanders' backs ten minutes later to run in unchallenged for try number five.

The New Zealanders seemed to wake up with a quarter of the match to go - substitute Josh Blaikie crashing over for their first try. They scored another two minutes from the end through wing Aisca Tuilevu, but not before Bok centre Grant Esterhuizen ghosted past Brown for his team's sixth try.

The Cats added insult to injury when Tromp barged over for his second deep into injury time.

Laurie Mains's team will be beaming with confidence when they take on the Brumbies in Johannesburg next week. Most of the squad got a run and with the Australians seemingly struggling in South Africa, they will back themselves for a third consecutive win.

The Highlanders travel to Durban and will come up against a Sharks outfit also high on confidence after their impressive win over the Brumbies. Coach Peter Sloane and captain Taine Randell have a lot of work ahead if they are to have any chance at the Absa Stadium.