The Springboks ran in 10 tries during their final Pool B match of the global showpiece for what was also their biggest ever win over the team from North America.

While the Springboks were rampant during the first half, Canada, showed quite a lot of character to stand their man in the second stanza, especially as they were one man down due to the replacement lock, Josh Larson, being red-carded in the 36th minute.

Larson flew into a ruck on the Springbok tryline and in the process made contact with the head and neck region of Thomas du Toit with his shoulder and with force.

The Bloemfontein born-and-raised Cobus Reinach was the hat-trick hero for the Springboks, and in the process also wrote his very own piece of World Cup history.

Reinach scored the fastest ever World Cup hat-trick after achieving his feat within the first 20 minutes of the Test.

He bettered the recorded held by Australia’s Chris Latham by a staggering five minutes. The former Wallaby scored his hat-trick against Namibia in 25 minutes during the 143-0 thrashing of the Welwitschias during the 2003 World Cup in Australia.

Apart from Reinach, Damian de Allende, Sbu Nkosi, Warrick Gelant, Frans Steyn, Schalk Brits, Damian Willemse and Frans Malherbe all scored tries as well, while Elton Jantjies converted eight of the tries.

The Springboks will have a near 12-day break before the play in the quarter-finals. When the Boks are assured of a final eight spot, it remains to be seen who they will face. At this stage, it could be Ireland, Scotland or the host Japan.

Scorers:

Springboks: Tries - Damian de Allende, Sbu Nkosi, Cobus Reinach (3), Warrick Gelant, Frans Steyn, Schalk Brits, Damian Willemse, Frans Malherbe Conv. - Elton Jantjies 8.

Canada: Try - Matt Heaton Conv. - Peter Nelson.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport