Springboks blow Italy away to take control of Nations Championship group

South Africa maintained their perfect Nations Championship record with a brutal 66-7 demolition of injury-hit Italy in Turin, effectively ending the contest before half-time.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu opened the scoring with an early penalty before slicing through from 40 metres for the first of nine Springbok tries, setting the tone for a remarkable opening period.

Morne van den Berg burrowed over from close range before Malcolm Marx crossed from a driving maul. Siya Kolisi followed after Feinberg-Mngomezulu produced a 50:22, before Damian Willemse finished a Jasper Wiese break beneath the posts.

Italy’s problems deepened when Muhamed Hasa was shown yellow for a deliberate knock-on, and Marx capitalised with his second maul try to send South Africa into the interval 45-0 ahead.

Rassie Erasmus deployed his Bomb Squad early in the second half and Wilco Louw powered through three tackles soon after for South Africa’s seventh try shortly after the restart, although Italy improved as the visitors’ intensity dipped.

Federico Ruzza finished a well-worked attack in the corner for Italy’s only score, but the Springboks eventually reasserted themselves.

Paul de Villiers crossed from another maul before Ethan Hooker crashed over with what was a well-deserved try in the final play.

The victory leaves South Africa with a maximum 20 points from 20 in the Nations Championship’s Southern Hemisphere table and, just as significantly, an 89-point advantage over New Zealand on points difference.

The All Blacks sit second on 15 points ahead of their meeting with Scotland at Murrayfield, leaving them with ground to make up after South Africa’s ruthless afternoon in Turin.

For Erasmus, it was an emphatic statement from a side that has taken maximum points from every round and continues to set the pace.

France and Ireland await for the world champions, where they are likely to face much sterner challenges.