The Springboks produced one of their most dominant performances in recent memory, dismantling Italy 66-7 in their Nations Championship clash in Rome on Saturday to record a nine-try demolition that had the hosts trailing 45-0 at the break.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was the standout, scoring a try and converting all nine Springbok efforts to finish with a personal haul of 21 points. His 50:22 in the 22nd minute set up Siya Kolisi's try, and his footwork and pace underpinned South Africa's most dangerous attacking sequences throughout.
The Boks were on the board inside the opening minutes through a penalty after Jesse Kriel's break took them to the Italian line, before Feinberg-Mngomezulu broke clear to finish in the corner for the opening try. Morne van den Berg crossed from close range shortly after, then Malcolm Marx powered over for a third try inside 20 minutes. Kolisi added the fourth from a bulldozing maul off the scrum, before Damian Willemse benefited from a Lood de Jager charge-down — the lock a late replacement for Salmaan Moerat — to make it five.
Italy's task became impossible when Muhamed Hasa was sent off, and Marx wasted no time exploiting the numerical advantage to score his second try with 32 minutes gone. South Africa led 38-0 at that point and had surpassed a point per minute.
The Bomb Squad arrived early in the second half as South Africa's precision dipped briefly, but Wilco Louw restored the flow, powering over for the seventh try after Kriel broke the line and Van den Berg recycled. Paul de Villiers and Ethan Hooker completed the scoring to bring the final tally to 66.
Italy's only reward came through Federico Ruzza's second-half corner finish, a moment that did little to mask the scale of the defeat. South Africa held 64% possession and 62% territory in the first half alone and were rarely troubled defensively throughout.