The Springbok selection earlier in the week promised a statement performance, and on Saturday in Turin they delivered, smashing Italy 66-7 in a one-sided Nations Championship test match.
The Boks scored nine tries - even though they took their foot off the pedal a bit in the second half - and kingpin Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked a beauty of a 50-22, scored a try and contributed 26 points to the cause on a day where everything seemed to go right for the World Champions.
There were eyebrows raised earlier in the week with the powerful team selection that Rassie Erasmus employed and with good reason.
This was clearly a plan to score as many points as possible - understandable given the format of the Nations Championship that could see both the Boks and All Blacks ending the series unbeaten and points difference then determining who plays in the inaugural final.
That was underlined by the first line of attack that led to a penalty by Feinberg-Mngomezulu getting the Boks onto the board.
But from then, from the moment the driving maul seemed to counter less resistance, they realised there were much easier ways to add to the scoresheet, and they made it count.
So dominant were the Boks that they looked like they could score almost at will, and the six tries they scored in the first half were an exceptional display of dominance.
There were some exceptional moments - the solo show and go by Feinberg-Mngomezulu and then the dart to the tryline - not quite as spectacular as his try in Durban two years back but still an impressive score.
DOMINANT FORWARDS
But for the most part the demolition was built on the back of a dominant forward pack - and especially a maul that was brutal in its execution. Any international coach watching this performance would quickly wonder just how they could counter it, and may well be inclined to follow Dave Rennie’s lead and try to change the laws of the game.
The Boks had lost Salmaan Moerat in the warm-up, although at the time of writing there was no clarity as to why, but his replacement Lood de Jager put in a shift that the management would have been proud of.
Ironically for one half at least, the Bok scrum wasn’t as dominant as we would expect, and some credit to the Italians for that. In fact, not only did they hold the Bok forward pack for three scrums, but on the fourth one they won a penalty on their own ball, something very unfamiliar for the Bok pack.
The Bok dominance returned in the setpiece in the second half when the bomb squad arrived, but it was a notable sight to see the Bok scrum held like that.
At the back Feinberg-Mngomezulu would have been dangerous with any sort of platform to begin with, but given the bulldozer in front of him, he was always going to shine and looked a lot more comfortable than at times this season.
HOOKER WAS EXCEPTIONAL
The most consistent back, however, has had to be Ethan Hooker, who made metres whenever he got the ball, was dominant under the high ball and has been one of the most improved players this season at the Boks.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s opener was a screamer, and it was followed by man of the match Morne van den Berg going over in the 15th minute after the first devastating maul destroyed the Italian defence.
Four minutes later that lineout drive was devastating again, marching 20 metres without any resistance to give Malcolm Marx his 30th try in a Springbok jersey.
Captain Siya Kolisi added another try in the 23rd minute. It was another maul and another try. Way too easy for the Boks at this stage.
Kolisi’s try came from an audacious 50-22 from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, the sort of kick that makes you remember why he is so highly rated, and the Boks turned defence into points with the simplest of moves.
JASPER MOTORED
The next try was perhaps one to match Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s exploit. De Jager charged down a kick and the turnover was sent to Jasper Wiese, who motored through a hole like a winger, sending the ball perfectly inside to Damian Willemse for the try.
The Boks could have scored again, but an errant hand by Muhamed Hasa stopped the move, cost Italy a yellow and just gave the Boks a chance to set up another lineout drive, which saw Marx go over for his second.
The halftime scoreline of 45-0 was eye-popping, and it brought up memories of the 101-0 demolition in Durban almost three decades ago. But this Italian side is not that side, and they emerged a lot stronger in the second half.
Wilco Louw twisted and turned out of a tackle to score his third try for the Boks but then it was the Italians who found a foothold and started to trouble the Boks momentum.
That, injuries and a raft of substitutions halted the Bok momentum, and Italy did at least cross the line through a well-worked attack that went right, and then left, finding lock Federico Ruzza on the wing to get them on the board.
But that was the last of their good fortune, and while the Boks were nowhere near as clinical late in the game, there were still tries for Paul de Villiers and Hooker to end the contest on a high.
The Boks will know the French wait in Paris next week and will be a lot tougher, but they will know that if they can replicate that first half, they should be just fine.
SCORERS
Italy - try: Federico Ruzza. Conversion: Tommasso Allen.
South Africa - tries: Malcolm Marx (2), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Berg, Siya Kolisi, Damian Willemse, Wilco Louw, Paul de Villiers, Ethan Hooker. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (9). Penalty: Feinberg-Mngomezulu.