What began as an untidy scuffle turned into a full-on brawl.
Irish referee David McHugh, whose shoulder was dislocated in 2002 at Durban by spectator Pieter van Zyl, who was still carrying a grudge from this test, was not about to offer clemency.
He sent off Dalton, who had sprinted into the middle of the melee, Canadian captain Gareth Rees and his senior prop Rod Snow for some unseen atrocity. Others who threw punches and continued to fight went unpunished, while the massive Springbok lock Hannes Strydom had to be replaced because of a wound above his eye.
The test resumed with uncontested scrums and the Boks won 20-0.
At the subsequent judicial hearing, the three players sent off were each banned for a month, while World Cup officials who reviewed footage of the test then cited Stewart and Hendriks.
They were also suspended and Hendriks' ban allowed the Boks to call up coloured wing Chester Williams, whose hamstring injury meant he had withdrawn from the squad shortly before the start of the tournament.
Eventually Williams played in the extraordinary extra-time tournament decider against the All Blacks.
Tomorrow - No 48: 2007 Ngwenya outsprints Bryan Habana