PREVIEW…
Scotland v South Africa
Today. Kick-off 4.45pm, Stade de Marseille
SCOTLAND captain Jamie Ritchie insists his side won't need to rely on being underdogs as they seek to throw Pool B wide open by upsetting South Africa in their opening World Cup match in Marseille.
The Scots are ranked fifth in the world and could rise to their highest position ever with a first win over the Springboks since 2010. But they have never beaten a higher-ranked team in nine previous World Cups, and must also face number-one ranked Ireland – who have won their last eight meetings – in their final group match.
But far from being daunted by the mission facing them, Ritchie believes it will bring out the best in Gregor Townsend's side.
“Our motivation is completely internal,” he said. “We have self-belief, we know that if we perform on the day that we can beat everyone in this group.
“We've done well with an underdog tag in the past, but I don't think we need it. I fully believe that if we perform to the best of our ability, we can win all our games in this group.”
If they are to enjoy only a third win over South Africa since 1969, and a first in 13 years, earning a degree of parity at the set-piece will be critical to their prospects.
Tighthead Zander Fagerson will be a pivotal figure in that regard, despite only playing 50 minutes of rugby during Scotland's warm-up Tests, after his red card against France and subsequent two-match ban.
The 27-year-old prop returns alongside hook-er George Turner and the supervision of Pieter loosehead Pierre Schoeman in the front row, with rica-born former France de Villiers, the South Af-WP Nel, Dave Cherry and prop who now oversees Jamie Bhatti coming off Scotland's preparations at the bench to help combat the coalface. the Boks' notorious ‘bomb “We know what is coming our way,” he said. “You squad' of replacements.
“Zander is very fit, he's can never hide from the fresh, he's trained hard set-piece against South and we've scrummed a Africa. It is about taking lot,” said head coach coach them on, about that one-onone physicality. There is no Gregor Townsend. “We had our best scrummaging hiding place.” session of the campaign If they manage to match on Wednesday, which was South Africa in the physicality stakes – easier said great. We've spent a lot of time on it and Zander has than done – Scotland's been a key part of it.” backline carries more
Those scrummaging menace than at any time sessions have been under in the last 20 years, with free-scoring wings Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe, long-striding full-back Blair Kinghorn and midfield duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones all in prime form, and Finn Russell pulling the strings from fly-half.
If Russell's display in the third Lions Test against the Boks in 2021 hinted at how the rest of the series might have panned out if he had been fit earlier, the Scots' pivot is sure to get a warm welcome from today's opponents in the sweltering heat of the Stade de Marseille.
“We've prepared really well in terms of making plans for what Finn can do,” said Boks full-back Damian Willemse. “He's a magician and he's one of the best in the world when it comes to making plays. We know he can pull anything out of the hat.”
South Africa, for their part, appear primed for a strong defence of their crown, having dispatched Wales and, most impressively, New Zealand with some comfort in their final two warm-up Tests.
For captain Siya Kolisi, happily restored to fitness after recovering from a knee injury which threatened his participation in France, the memories of four years ago, and how it was received in South Africa, provides ample fuel in their quest to become the first country to win four World Cups.
“It's never pressure,” he said. “I will never forget when we won in Japan and when we landed in Johannesburg. I've never seen anything like that. That is the kind of energy that drives us, the kind of energy that reminds us who we're doing it for and why we're doing it. It's a huge privilege and honour.”
TEAMS
SCOTLAND: Kinghorn, Graham, Jones, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe, Russell, White; Schoeman, Turner, Z Fagerson, R Gray, Gilchrist, Ritchie (c), Darge, Dempsey Replacements: Cherry, Bhatti, Nel, Cummings, M Fagerson, Price, Redpath, Smith SOUTH AFRICA: Willemse; Arendse, Kriel, de Allende, Kolbe; Libbok, de Klerk; Kitshoff, Marx, Malherbe, Etzebeth, Mostert, Kolisi (c), du Toit, Wiese Replacements: Mbonami, Nche, Nyakane, Snyman, van Staden, Vermeulen, Williams, Le Roux Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus)
