South Africa face Scotland on Sunday in their first Rugby World Cup outing of Pool B. Get the latest team news, kick-off times and more here!
The wait is over
South Africa finally get their 2023 Rugby World Cup title defence underway this weekend, with a tough first outing against Scotland. Gregor Townsend’s side are in fine form, occupying a career best world ranking of fifth, and will look to pose SA all sorts of problems with their tactical kicking game, spearheaded by talisman Finn Russell at flyhalf.
Can Jacques Nienaber’s charges overcome the Brave Hearts and get their campaign off to a winning start?
🇿🇦🤝🏴 Rassie Erasmus is expecting a massive battle in the Springboks opening #RWC2023 Test against Scotland.pic.twitter.com/uWMZPyFDNb
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 6, 2023
Betting odds
South Africa 1/5 | Draw 33/1 | Scotland 7/2
Handicap
SA (-10.5) 9/10 | Scotland (+10.5) 9/10
Teams
South Africa
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Duane Vermeulen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Willie le Roux.
Scotland
When And Where To Watch
Build-up to this Rugby World Cup Pool B clash starts at 16:30, with match coverage beginning at 17:30 live on SuperSport Grand Stand (channel 201).
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Known as the Orange Vélodrome due to sponsorship reasons, this 67, 294 capacity multi-purpose stadium opened in 1937 and has played host to a number of famous sports tournaments, including matches at the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, a series of UEFA European Championships as well as the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
In a good omen for fans of the green and gold, South Africa beat Fiji 37-20 in the quarterfinals of the latter event at the famous venue.
