Etzebeth says he’s fine as major Boks ticked in Provence

Though there was concern the Springboks' 18-3 win over Scotland in their Rugby World Cup opener in Marseille had come at terrible cost, star lock Eben Etzebeth allayed fears about the seriousness of his shoulder injury.

Etzebeth departing the scene after only 26 minutes would have brought about a fresh bout of post-Sunday lunch indigestion. He will subject the knock to more specialised interrogation on Monday, but the player capped 114 times does not believe the injury is serious.

“We'll go for scans tomorrow but I don't think it is too bad,” said Etzebeth, who explained he was injured when he carried the ball into Scotland's defence.

Malcolm Marx also left the field, though in his case momentarily, with a head wound that required three stitches. He is raring to go.

It all means a significant box was ticked by the Springboks as they launched the defence of their World Cup crown with a hard-earned win on Sunday.

Though a powerful performance in the way they secured possession and territory, they did not quite enjoy the dominance on the scoreboard commensurate with their effort.

The Boks held 59% of the possession and 54% of the territory, though it felt like they spent more time in Scotland's half. Crucially they bashed their way over the gainline twice the number of times Scotland did.

In that regard, Pieter-Steph du Toit is looking more and more like the man who was named the sport's best player in 2019. Franco Mostert was equally forceful in charging it up, while both relentlessly harassed and hounded the opposition when the Boks didn't have the ball. Jasper Wiese delivered arguably his best performance of the year with a Bok on his jersey.

It was a win built solidly on the toil of their forwards on another hot and humid afternoon in Provence.

It allowed scrumhalf Faf de Klerk to dictate terms in his 50th Test, while halfback Manie Libbok continues to underline the fresh dimension he has brought to the Bok attack. His distribution helped him win the man-of-the-match award. His two successful kicks out of five at goal will no doubt invite much comment.

Equally, there were other facets of the Boks' performance that at times fell short of the mark. In the scrum, for instance, two penalties on the cusp of half time had Bok fans twitching nervously in the stands, but down in the bowels of the Stade Vélodrome corrective measures were being verbalised in a way not fit for public consumption.

Scotland then were pretty much back in the match trailing by just three points but the Boks were able to troubleshoot their way into the clear at the start of the second half. Their scrum grew an arm and a leg and their pack rumbled forward with greater cohesion. The humidity made the ball difficult to handle but the Boks were able to hang onto it long enough to make telling gains.

Du Toit's try was an example of their unremitting commitment to bashing the door down, while Kurt-Lee Arendse's 12th try in 11 Tests was in large part due to Libbok's ability to distribute as deftly with boot as he does with hand.

Perhaps the part of the Bok win least talked about was their defence. Scotland these days rarely leave the field without registering a try or two. While their options were significantly cut down at source, they found the Bok defence unyielding.

Bok coach Jacques Nienaber was relieved to get over the first hurdle.

“It was a slippery one. Scotland are a good team. They are not number five in the world for nothing. We had to grind the win out.

“Rugby is not a complicated sport. If you get a good platform from the forwards, then you can create space and create some magic.”

The coach, however, wants to see greater returns on their match-day investment.

“The big thing for us is to get a return for our dominance. We couldn't build any scoreboard pressure. There is a lot to look at and we have to make sure we pitch up with the right mentality against Romania.”

The Boks returned to their Toulon base after the game and will make their way to Bordeaux later this week.