Key events
What are your thoughts on the 7-1 bench split? Does anyone out there feel that it’s against the spirit of rugby?
Rassie Erasmus, full of smiles, admits that his rotated side is a consequence of the short six-day turnaround before the England match.
A few weeks ago, he was doing his best to convince Gerard Meager that his brutal Boks are actually a bunch of lovable blokes. Anyone buying it?
The crowd is filling up around me and there are a load of Saffas in attendance.
The streets of Edinburgh were awash with green jerseys. They’re not the majority – I’d say it’s a 70-30 split – but they’ll fanatically cheer every South African point.
With Wales losing to Fiji, Scotland are the only European side to beat a southern hemisphere outfit in five Tests this Autumn.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Not if you read my preview of the four southern hemisphere giants (Fiji not included).
Missed it, did you? I’ve got you covered:
Some of you might have noticed my slip when I reported on the Scotland team.
It’s fixed now, thanks to Allan MacDonald, who wrote in to help me out.
Allan also had some thoughts on Jordan at full-back:
Quite surprised he went to full back when Rowe went off last week, but I suppose Scotland use their fullback as a second playmaker often and with Kinghorn also able to fill that role it might keep the South African rush defence guessing for that crucial split second.
(I can hope!!)
Fiji have just beaten Wales! 24-19 in Cardiff. It’s Wales’ 10th successive defeat, their joint-worst ever run.
Rassie Erasmus and his Boks have on the charm offensive this Autumn.
But is it working?
Michael Aylwin ain’t buying it. But, as our man says, it’s not necessary. The Boks have earned their reputation as the bad boys of the game. Why not embrace it?
South Africa team
It’s a seven-one split on the bench with only Grant Williams – a scrum-half-cum-winger – the lone back among the subs.
There are some heavy hitters who’ll be expected to add some heft later on, but don’t think of the starters as lightweight. That’s a very mobile back row who’ll look to stifle Scotland’s ball. And with Andre Esterhuizen rampaging down the inside centre lane, the Boks will still pack a punch from the opening whistle.
South Africa: Wille le Roux; Canan Moodie, Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi; Handre Pollard, Jaden Hendrikse; Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth (c), Franco Mostert, Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenkamp, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jasper Wiese, Grant Williams.
Scotland team
A few big names, including Fin Russell, Ben White and Blair Kinghorn return to the side.
New Zealand-born Tom Jordan makes his first start for his adopted country at full-back. He’s usually a midfielder, and his deployment in the backfield, with Kinghorn out wide, could be a sign of Scotland’s intention to hoist the ball high. Then again, it could just be that Darcy Graham is out injured.
Scotland: Tom Jordan; Blair Kinghorn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu (c), Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: Dylan Richardson, Rory Sutherland, Elliot Millar Mills, Max Williamson, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Ritchie, Jamie Dobie, Stafford McDowall.
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
So far it’s been a clean sweep for the Rugby Championship sides over their Six Nations rivals.
The New Zealand All Blacks edged England and then kept Ireland at arm’s length. Australia won a thriller at Twickenham before Argentina routed Italy.
Now the double world champion Springboks take aim at Scotland with Gregor Townsend’s team the last hope for those who hold onto the belief that Europe’s best have the measure of the southern hemisphere giants.
Scotland have not beaten South Africa since 2010 in a run that stretches across 10 Tests. They were outmuscled in their last meeting at last year’s World Cup and though they have the razzle-dazzle to cut any defensive line to shreds, it’s where cauliflowered ears meet bloodied foreheads where this game will likely be decided.
Can Scotland front up to the Bomb Squad, as South Africa’s meaty replacements have been dubbed since their 2019 World Cup triumph? Perhaps they can. But what about a Nuclear Squad? Rassie Erasmus has named seven forwards on the bench including regular captain Siya Kolisi and the former World Player of the Year, Pieter-Steph du Toit.
If Scotland can get enough front-foot ball for Finn Russell, and if they can handle the heft of the Boks pack, and if they can establish a large enough lead to nullify the impact of the South African bench, then maybe, possibly, they have a serious chance of a mighty upset.
That’s a lot of ifs, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the Autumn Nations Series so far it’s that we should expect the unexpected.
How good’s international rugby at the minute!? Another cracker awaits!
I’m at Murrayfield and I can’t wait to get going. Drop me a mail if you’ve got any thoughts you’d like to share.
Kick-off at 4:10pm GMT.
Teams and further updates to come.
