TURIN, Italy — World champion South Africa smothered a depleted Italy 66-7 as predicted in Nations Championship rugby on Saturday.

The Springboks scored nine tries, all converted, at Juventus Stadium. A halftime lead of 45-0 and Italy’s weak defense hinted at the Springboks threatening a rare century but errors crept in, the intensity was reduced, and Italy rediscovered its pride.

South Africa improved to 4-0 in the championship and boosted its aim to make the final by giving its points differential lead over New Zealand a huge bump. The Boks play Six Nations champion France in Paris on Friday.

Italy dropped to 0-4 with Argentina and Fiji to come. The Azzurri were missing a clutch of injured front-liners but played noticeably better when replacement halves Stephen Varney and Tommaso Allan arrived after an hour.

Despite one loss in history to Italy, and 10 years ago, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus picked an uncompromising side based on the Greatest Rivalry series win over New Zealand two months ago. They hit the ground running.

Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, given a ride behind a dominant pack, scored from a show-and-go 45 meters out that he finished with an acrobatic plant beside the right corner flag. Feinberg-Mngomezulu was perfect off the tee — 10 out of 10 — and finished with 26 points, his third best match haul in tests.

The Italians stopped an early lineout maul but scrumhalf Morné van den Berg darted over from a ruck. The Boks fixed their lineout drive and scored four times from it, starting with tries for Malcolm Marx and captain Siya Kolisi.

Fullback Damian Willemse finished a Lood de Jager chargedown and, while Italy prop Muhamed Hasa was in the sin-bin, Marx scored his second from another lineout drive.

Italy gained just 60 meters in the first half and forced South Africa to make only 25 tackles. The host’s problems were also compounded by wasting what little possession it gathered with poor kicking.

It didn’t look like it would get any easier when all six replacement forwards in South Africa’s Bomb Squad were unloaded in the 46th minute and Wilco Louw immediately scored after a Jesse Kriel run.

But Italy scored next thanks to Varney’s huge cut-out pass to unmarked lock Federico Ruzza on the left wing.

The Boks had the last say, though, with tries for flanker Paul de Villiers and busy wing Ethan Hooker.