South Africa turned on the style against Scotland to record an emphatic 73-0 victory at the IRB Junior world rugby championship, with eight different players crossing for tries at the Estadio CA Colon in Santa Fe.

The Baby Boks scored 11 tries in total, matching the tally of Australia in their 67-5 defeat of Tonga in Wednesday’s other Pool C match in Paraná — the side they will face in a mouth-watering encounter on Sunday to determine who finishes top to guarantee a semi-final berth.

South Africa signalled their intentions straight from the kick-off, captain CJ Stander recovering a ball in the tackle and launching an attack, the ball being spun wide for wing Wandile Mjekevu to touch down.

Flanker Siya Kolisi then benefitted from the work of his forwards, ending up at the back of a maul to touch down South Africa’s second try. Three minutes later, Kolisi had his second of the day after running round three would-be tacklers.

The try bonus point was wrapped up as early as the 21st minute when prop Marcel van der Merwe was the man to profit from another South African maul. The Baby Boks’ other prop Brummer Badenhorst and flyhalf Elton also crossed to establish a 40-0 half-time lead.

South Africa had tried to spin the ball wide in the opening half, but did not have sufficient fluidity or physical strength to unsettle the dominant Baby Boks and things continued in the same vein after the break with South Africa piling on the pressure.

Patrick Lambie, who played for the Sharks in this year’s Super 14, scored the first try of the second half and had a hand in the next Baby Boks’ score when his neat chip to Sibusiso Sithole put the wing in the clear.

Lambie broke the line and passed out of the tackle to send Sithole over for his second try, the full back kicking the conversion to take his personal haul to 23 points before being replaced by Nico Scheepers with the scoreboard reading 61-0 to South Africa.

South Africa, though, were not finished with Jantjies continuing to trouble the Scotland defence with his running and kicking and getting his reward after Stander and Louis Schreuder combined from the base of the scrum to send him over for his second try.

Scotland’s defence did improve in the final 20 minutes as South Africa coach Eric Sauls began to ring the changes, but second row Keny Okafor still had time to score his side’s 11th try of the day after good work from replacement Lubablo Mtembu.

South Africa now look forward to their Pool C decider with Australia in Santa Fe on Sunday, while Scotland will be looking to come out on top in the battle of the two winless sides when they face Tonga in Paraná.