The Springboks humiliated Italy 66-7 in Turin in the Nations Championship.

The Boks led 45-0 at the break.

The bonus-point win consolidated the Springboks’ position at the top of the southern hemisphere table.

The Boks play France in Paris on Friday and complete their league matches against Ireland in Dublin a week later.

The finals weekend will be played at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham in the last week of November.

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus picked his strongest available 23 against an Italian side missing several regulars.

And it showed from the opening minute, with the Boks winning their first scrum within the first minute, winning their first lineout within two minutes and getting their four-try bonus point within 25 minutes.

Springboks flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was sensational. He thrived behind a dominant set piece and South African aerial game, scored the most magnificent opening try and was faultless off the kicking tee in the first half, converting six tries and an early penalty.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu, halfback partner Morne van den Berg and wingers Ethan Hooker and Kurt-Lee Arendse feasted on the Italians, but the demolition job began up front.

The Boks, led by Malcolm Marx, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jasper Wiese and Siya Kolisi, were in total control at the set piece, in the collisions and in every facet.

It was among the more clinical opening halves produced by the Springboks in some time. They were near perfect.

The opening five minutes of the second half was in contrast, with the Boks making more mistakes in those five minutes than they did in the opening 40.

This prompted a response from Erasmus, who introduced all six forward replacements in the 45^th minute. The reward was immediate: popular tighthead prop Wilco Louw scored a converted try to take the Boks past 50 points.

The match was over within 20 minutes and the Boks could not match their first-half intensity.

Italy, who had won a scrum penalty in the 42^nd minute, scored their first points on the hour when lock Federico Ruzza scored and replacement back Tommaso Allan converted.

The Boks finished strongly, adding two more converted tries in the final 10 minutes. Hooker got the final try of the match and Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted a perfect 10 from 10 off the tee.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored 26 points, but the Player of the Match award went to Van den Berg, whose kicking game, work rate and passing were of the highest quality.

Boks inside centre Damian de Allende, despite playing just an hour, made the most carries (16), with Arendse making the most linebreaks (3).

*Salmaan Moerat, picked to start at lock, was a late withdrawal. Lood de Jager started and Franco Mostert played the final 35 minutes as a replacement lock.

Scorers

Springboks: Tries – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Berg, Malcolm Marx (2), Damian Willemse, Siya Kolisi, Wilco Louw, Paul de Villiers and Ethan Hooker. Conversions – Feinberg-Mngomezulu (9) Penalty – Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Italy: Try – Federico Ruzza. Conversion: Tommaso Allan.