South Africa finally get their 2023 Rugby World Cup title defence underway on Sunday with a tough first assignment against Scotland at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille.
South Africa v Scotland
Sunday 10 September
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
South Africa 1/5 | Draw 33/1 | Scotland 7/2
Jacques Nienaber’s side put the All Blacks to the sword in their resounding 35-7 victory at Twickenham in their final warm-up Test after cleaning up Wales 52-16 in Cardiff the week prior. It’s fair to say confidence in the camp is at an all-time high, so it’ll be interesting to see how they respond on Sunday given the team always appears to perform best when their backs are against the wall.
As noted by RugbyPass scribe Ben Smith, Scotland, mainly through flyhalf Finn Russell but also their No 9s and No 12 Sione Tuipulotu, are likely to kick often when in possession with the intention of keeping the ball in play and avoiding a set piece confrontation. They’ve also struggled to get around (nevermind through) South Africa’s rush defence in the past, and forcing them to continually turn their backs could work in their favour.
The likes of SA fullback Damian Willemse should expect plenty of chips, grubbers and high bombs coming his way as the Brave Hearts look to conjure some chaos in backfield.
That said, it’s unlikely Gregor Townsend’s boys can execute this tactic for the full eighty, and if the defending champs tidy up nicely at the back and dominate territory themselves, they should have far too much firepower.
The men in green and gold lost each of their opening games at the previous two World Cups, but that won’t happen this time around.
Verdict: South Africa (-11.5) 9/10
