South Africa continued their winning ways at Rugby World Cup 2023 with a 76-0 win over Pool B opponents Romania at Stade de Bordeaux on Sunday.
It took just over 10 minutes for South Africa to race to a 26-0 lead with tries from Cobus Reinach (2), Makazole Mapimpi and Damian Willemse, before Reinach made it a hat-trick to enter the break 33-0 ahead.
In the second half, Mapimpi scored a brace to pick up his hat-trick, while Deon Fourie, Grant Williams (2) and Willie Le Roux also crossed the line in a dominant display by the Springboks.
Mapimpi, Mastercard Player of the Match, thanked the Boks fans who roared their approval whenever their team kept the scoreboard moving in their favour.
"We appreciate that. I see you guys behind us all the time," said the wing.
"I don't put myself in front (first), it's all about the team. It's not about me walking over to score the tries. A lot of guys did well - André [Esterhuizen], Willie [Le Roux] - and I appreciate their work."
Romania head coach Eugen Apjok took solace in parts of his team's displays in their first two Rugby World Cup 2023 matches against world number one Ireland and South Africa, the reigning world champions.
He said: "We had the first 25 minutes in the Irish game and today the last 20 minutes of the first half - we can take some positives.
"We need to learn a lot about how to manage, especially in the breakdown."
Apjok's captain, Cristian Chirica, maintained an upbeat tone despite the heavy defeat in the rain.
"It is very important for us to play against the best teams in the world because we are a young team that needs experience," he said.
"It is very hard to play against teams like South Africa which are very tough and very physical, but we are happy to be here and we are trying to do our best."
South Africa can now focus on playing Ireland in Saint-Denis on Saturday in a confident mood.
"I'm especially happy with a couple of things we tried," said Jacques Nienaber, the Boks' head coach.
"The three different hookers that we used - I thought that paid off. Then Faf [de Klerk] got some exposure at 10 - so I thought a lot of things that we wanted to get out of the game, we got."
