The Springboks will be looking to make it two wins from two starts when they take on a Scottish outfit who'll have their tails up after beating an in-form Wallabies side this past weekend.
Scotland v South Africa
Saturday 13 November
Murrayfield
15:00
To Win (80 Mins)
Scotland 2/1 | Draw 22/1 | South Africa 4/10
Handicap
Scotland (+5.5) 9/10 | South Africa (-5.5) 9/10
South Africa head to Murrayfield having comeback to slay the Welsh Dragons last weekend courtesy of the burly France Steyn. In a game of attrition, the South Africans trailed 15-9 with less than half an hour on the clock.
Up stepped the veteran utility back who slotted a monstrous penalty to close the gap to just three points. A late Malcolm Marx try saw the ‘Boks take the lead heading into the final five minutes. Elton Janjties penalty after full time added some gloss to the score with the ‘Boks prevailing 23-18.
💥 He's still got it! Who doesn't love seeing Frans Steyn launch missiles from 50m out? #StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #WALvRSA pic.twitter.com/MXbs8hBEE5
— Springboks (@Springboks) November 7, 2021
It’ll be interesting to see how well Jesse Kriel performs on the wing again this week. He didn’t shoot the lights out in Cardiff and made a slew of errors leading to turnovers. The beefy back also slipped off a couple of tackles. With Sbu Nkosi available again and calls for Aphelele Fassi to get a look in soon, the pressure is on the former Bulls man ahead of the season-ending England Test.
There’ll also a bit of pressure on Herschel Jantjies who didn’t have his best day out against Wales. His kicking was errant at times and his decision making under penalty advantage was questionable. Poor kicking against an electric Scottish back three will prove costly. To make matters more difficult, he’ll be lining up against the vastly experienced Ali Price who loves a bit of niggle. The Stormers man will need to keep his head.
Scotland also ended last weekend on the right side of a narrow scoreline as they pipped an understrength Wallabies outfit 15-13. In a tense game, the boot of Finn Russel was the difference between the sides with the Scottish pivot kicking a 68th-minute penalty to decide the tie.
I’m not sure we’ll see too many changes to the Scottish side. Their backline performed well against the Wallabies, but facing off against the Springbok midfield duo of Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am will prove far more difficult than the defensive and offensive threat posed by Len Ikitau and Hunter Paisami. Expect Gregor Townsend’s men to send plenty of traffic down Elton Jantjies’ channel.
In terms of team news for this weekend, the Boks have been forced to make a change at fullback with Willie le Roux replacing the injured Damian Willemse. Another change to the back division sees Jantjies come in at ten in place of Handre Pollard.
While there’ll be plenty of discussion around the backs, this game will undoubtedly be won up front. The Springbok set-piece functioned well last week. Malcolm Marx’s match-deciding try came off the back of a devastating maul while the Welsh pack melted away in the face of massive scrum pressure. The Scottish pack will provide a sterner test in this facet of the game, but will still find themselves under pressure if the Boks execute on the day.
Brutal from the @Springboks 💪
— Autumn Nations Series (@autumnnations) November 6, 2021
Malcolm Marx powers over for his 10th try in 44 Tests!
🇬🇧 Watch the #AutumnNationsSeries Live on @primevideosport#WALvRSA pic.twitter.com/6Fg5XzkkTX
Jacques Nienaber will be hoping that the weatherman’s predictions for Edinburgh on Saturday are accurate. After dealing with wet and slippery conditions in Wales last week, Saturday’s forecast for the Scottish capital sees almost no wind, low double-digit temps and very little chance of rain… conditions which dovetail nicely with the Springbok gameplan.
Verdict: South Africa (-5.5) 9/10
I fancy the ‘Boks to clear the cap here. They have a very strong bench who are likely to take the game away from the ‘Scots late in the second stanza.
