Canada didn’t help themselves, with second-rower Josh Larsen sent off on the half-hour for a dangerous charge into a ruck - although, ironically, the men in red played better with 14 on the pitch.  

South Africa's line-up at Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe City, was full of second-string players, but it made no difference as the favourites accelerated through the gears.

Having played New Zealand just six days ago, it was no surprise to see the Canadians crumble, but the manner of defeat was particularly galling.

It took two minutes for South African forward RG Snyman to make a break, allowing Damian de Allende to get the try-scoring rout underway.

S'busiso Nkosi crossed four minutes later, before halfback Cobus Reinach took over.

His first five-pointer was one of the tries of the tournament, breaking free just outside his own 22, chip-kicking in midfield, then regaining the ball to charge home.

On 18 minutes he scored again, after more good work from Snyman, before a wonderful end-to-end effort involving an Elton Jantjies cross-kick, a lightning break by Warrick Gelant and glorious interplay with de Allende.

Reinach finished off the move to deliver the fastest-ever Rugby World Cup hat-trick.

When Gelant scored on 28 minutes, Jantjies' conversion pushed the score out to 40-0 after just half-an-hour.

Larsen lost his head shortly after – the sixth red card of the tournament.

Right on the halftime whistle, Frans Steyn made it seven tries in a remarkable 40 minutes, giving South Africa a 47-0 lead at the break.

However, a determined Canada come out firing in the second half, with one of the biggest cheers of the night coming when Matt Heaton scored a consolation on 45 minutes.

With numerous replacements, South Africa lost their fluency and could only produce three more tries – for Schalk Brits, Damian Willemse and Frans Malherbe.

While South Africa will be in good spirits as they head into the last eight, such a disparity between tier one and tier two nations is never a good look for the sport.

There are three fixtures tomorrow, starting with the dead rubber Argentina against the United States in Pool C.

Scotland will be desperate for a bonus point in their Pool A clash with Russia, while Wales against Fiji is a mouth-watering prospect in Pool D.