Boks forced back to playbook, bash solid win against Scots

The Springboks were forced to revert to a dog-eared page in their playbook to eventually subdue Scotland 18-3 in their Rugby World Cup opener at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on Sunday.

If at first you don't succeed, bash again and again, was more or less the uncomplicated methodology they applied but they were forced to wait for their bounty.

Scotland stoutly defended their castle for the first 45 minutes but eventually, in the face of near-unrelenting Springbok pressure, Gregor Townsend’s team yielded.

The victory would have eased many green — or should that be hyper-jade — nerves as the defending champions can now set their sights on Paris and a clash with Ireland for supremacy in a group, long dubbed the “Pool of Death”.

The victory does give them the luxury to dig deeper into their squad for the matches against Romania in Bordeaux and Tonga at this stadium at the start of next month.

For a while though, in front of 63,566 spectators, for the first time in their away jerseys at the World Cup, the Boks looked hyper-jaded.

A hot and steamy afternoon in France’s second city became tight and tense as the second half started with the Boks, despite their large claim to territory and possession, holding a slender 6-3 lead.

Never mind halftime naartjies, the Boks had a lot on their plate at the break.

Scotland’s teams have made steady headway in the United Rugby Championship. Their forwards have proved adept at meeting the physical confrontation South African teams have presented them.

That showed in the first half as Scotland stood their ground as the Bok pack kept knocking. They held their shape but they were also adept at stunting the Bok momentum at the breakdown.

There were earlier warning signs before Scotland sent a chilling message down Springbok spines on the cusp of half time when they scrummed the world champions off the ball on their own feed. The ensuing penalty presented Russell his first attempt at goal and he gratefully accepted to halve the deficit to 6-3.

Scotland, you’d think, would have gone down the tunnel re-energised.

Crucially, however, the Boks earned a scrum penalty with the first set-piece of the second half and though that missed the South Africans seemed hell-bent on kicking Scotland’s door down.

Franco Mostert, Jasper Wiese and Frans Malherbe helped bend Scotland’s first line of defence and eventually something had to give. Pieter-Steph du Toit applied the finishing touches and Scotland looked increasingly vulnerable.

There were times, however, when the Boks did not make it easy for themselves. They converted just three attempts out of seven from the kicking tee and that will invite more scrutiny in the coming days.

Eben Etzebeth departing the scene prematurely by his standards would have been a concern.

There was a mini dust-up after Damian de Allende was bundled into touch in the 22nd minute. Referee Angus Gardner assembled some of the culprits for a minor dressing down though the decision to take no action left some Scotland fans a touch hot under their kilts.

Indeed it was a sweltering day and just like England and Argentina the night before, the ball at times proved hard to control.

Those little imprecisions coupled with Scotland’s tightly-knit maul defence meant the Bok advances mostly came to nought. Du Toit, Wiese and Mostert were going through a tonne of work but Scotland stood firm.

In fact, it was the Bravehearts who botched the most obvious try-scoring opportunity in the first half when Darcy Graham opted to hold on instead of trusting the already-created overlap. The Bok cover defence snuffed out the danger but it showed the peril of shooting out of defensive alignment.

The Boks, however, regrouped and they will leave Marseille with a spring in their step later this week.

Scorers

South Africa (6) 18 — Tries: Pieter Steph du Toit, Kurt-Lee Arendse.
Conversion: Faf de Klerk.
Penalties: Manie Libbok (2).

Scotland (3) 3 — Penalty: Finn Russell.