The Springboks taught the inexperienced Italy yet another lesson this afternoon, when they beat the travelling Azzurri 45-0 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Rassie Erasmus fielded an almost completely altered starting team from their victory over the northern hemisphere visitors last week, but the end result remained the same.

Here is how we rated the Springboks players:

Backs

15 Willie le Roux: The hype surrounding the experienced full-back was high on his 100th game for the Springboks, but the 35-year-old didn’t let the occasion get to him. He kept the defence honest with some clever kicks behind, most notably putting Edwill van der Merwe through for his first try of the game. He made just one mistake when he passed the ball too far forward for what would have been Van der Merwe’s hat-trick, but otherwise it was a solid performance. 7

14 Edwill van der Merwe: It was a fantastic return to the fold from the speedy winger, and he showed his intent early on with great anticipation to latch onto Le Roux’s kick through, to score his first of the evening. Perhaps fortunate to be awarded his second try with a dubious foot in touch, but after 13 months of waiting to play for the green and gold, he deserves the spoils. 9

13 Canan Moodie: Defensively, he was outstanding, helping to marshal an Italian attack that simply wasn’t given a chance to breathe. The diagonal line he took to score his try was nothing short of impeccable, but it was his strength, speed and determination to get over the line that secured the points. At just 22 years of age, this young man has an immense future. 8

12 Andre Esterhuizen: His playing style is perfect for the current Springbok game plan. Today he showed again why he’s considered one of the hardest runners in the game, as he made huge carries of the centre of the Italian defence, making metres almost every time. Coach Erasmus will be sure to show him a couple of situations where he should have passed to his support in space, however. Had strong moments as loose forward too! 8

11 Makazole Mapimpi: The experienced wing showed his class with the ball in hand, proving to be a real handful in attack. He was eventually rewarded off the back of a very well-worked backs move near the end when he simply had to saunter over the try line. 7

10 Manie Libbok: Threw a commanding miss pass to set up Van der Merwe’s second try, and continued to pull the strings expertly as the match continued. His classy touches always make it seem like he’s got all the time in the world, and today was no different. 8

9 Grant Williams: Returning to play for the first time since injury, he looked like he’d not missed a beat, scoring a superb opening try. Looking sharp around the breakdown, he regularly aimed to break the Italian defence with various flicks and tricks, proving to be a menace to the ruck guards. 8

8 Jasper Wiese: After a confident start to proceedings, Wiese’s evening hit a disastrous roadblock when he was red-carded for head-butting Italy prop, Danilo Fischetti. Referee Andrew Brace issued the Springboks number eight with a straight red card, bypassing the 20-minute red card rule due to the action being deemed deliberate and highly dangerous. This left his teammates one short for the final three-quarters of the match. 2

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit: The World Player of the Year ran hard and true, clocking in over 13 carries. As often is with PSDT, the work he does is tough and personally unrewarding, but the importance it has on his team cannot be understated.  7

6 Marco van Staden: Like his flank partner, his work rate was insane, getting involved in all the dirty work and winning vital penalties for the Springboks. He took his well-deserved rest with a quarter of the match remaining. 8

5 Ruan Nortje: An incredibly disruptive performance, causing utter mayhem in the lineout as he used his giant frame and rangy arms to win the Springboks possession on multiple occasions. His open play lineout plan, working with scrum half Williams, will be remembered for a long time. 9

4 Salmaan Moerat: There were question marks about his involvement in the team, and his display today did nothing to quash them. While he didn’t make too many mistakes, he certainly didn’t appear to add anything to a team already filled with world-class talent. His final involvement ended with him giving away a penalty, his third of the night. 5

3 Wilco Louw: He didn’t appear to use his size to any great effect other than in the scrum. His running felt lethargic, and his collisions appeared unintentional. He will be pleased that his scrummaging remains up there with the best in the world, however, causing the Italians untold damage in the tight. 6

2 Malcolm Marx: The experienced hooker had a huge shift, playing like it was a World Cup final rather than an July international against a weakened Italian side. Scored a well-deserved try early in the second half. 8

1 Thomas du Toit: Struggled at loosehead, being removed after just 30 minutes. Will be frustrated after being, once again, played out of position. One of the best tightheads in the world…but not a Test loosehead. 3

Replacements: Ox Nche showed not just his scrummaging prowess, but also his impressive ability to step players. Jan-Hendrik Wessels took his try well in the dying moments. Ethan Hooker put in some huge hits, and Asenathi Ntlabakanye helped his team make some great yardage thanks to his immense size. 7