By Nick Powell, Online Editor at Stade de Marseille
South Africa…………………18
Tries: Du Toit 47, Arendse 51
Penalties: Libbok 13, 25
Conversions: De Klerk 52
Scotland……………………….3
Penalties: Russell 40+2
A two-try salvo early in the second half was enough to give reigning champions South Africa victory in the opening game of their World Cup defence against Scotland.
The Springboks controlled possession and territory before the break, but they were matched up front and struggled to dominate with straightforward tactics that Scotland were eventually able to get to grips with.
South Africa had a half-time lead though, thanks to two Manie Libbok penalties to one from Scotland’s Finn Russell, and the Boks quintupled their three-point advantage in the space of five second half minutes with tries from Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse, the second superbly assisted by Libbok.
As South Africa began to control proceedings up front Scotland’s route back into the game became increasingly narrow, but they refused to wilt in the Marseille heat and prevented the Springboks adding anymore points from the 52nd minute onwards.
But South Africa could come away very satisfied with their round one work in Pool B, as head coach Jacques Nienaber‘s attention now turns to a round three contest against Ireland, who won handsomely against Romania yesterday.
Nienaber said: “I think it could have been a slippery one. Scotland are a good side – they are not number five in the world for nothing.
“They pushed things a long way in the game, I thought we had a little bit of dominance in the first half but we had to grind the win out.”
No-one could deny the drama that spectators had been witness to in the same venue the night before, but many would have expected this contest to feature more ball in hand in attack and higher quality skills on show.
That didn’t prove to be the case in a cagey first period though, as South Africa looked to kick within a few phases of gaining possession against a Scottish side that didn’t always appear comfortable under the high-ball barrage.
Eventually Mannie Libbok took the second of two chances off the tee to draw first blood for South Africa, as Finn Russell has harshly penalised for what was deemed a deliberate knock-on, before the Springbok fly-half doubled his side’s advantage on 25 minutes following an impressive Jasper Wiese turnover.
But Scotland showed the resilience that has seen them locked in at their highest World Rugby ranking of number five, as they saw off a renewed series of forward-orientated South African attacks and created the best try-scoring chance of the first period.
After Russell fed Darcy Graham with a beautifully-timed pass following a wrap around in midfield, the diminutive winger burst up to within ten metres.
He failed to release fellow winger Duhan van der Merwe with a timely pass and the chance broke down, but Scotland were able to halve the deficit at the break as Russell knocked over a penalty in first-half overtime following a huge shove from props Pierre Schoeman and Xander Fagerson at a scrum on halfway.
Straight after the break South Africa looked to restore the six-point gap with a Libbok penalty from inside his own half, but with the shot clock running out the fly-half struck his attempt short and wide.
It was from the resulting Scottish clearance that South Africa finally looked to go through the phases though, getting within six metres of the Scottish line after an attack which saw Faf de Klerk keep the ball in play with a pass through his legs, and neat hands in midfield from the forwards helping release winger Arendse in Scotland’s 22.
Blair Kinghorn’s knock-on in the tackle put a stop to that particular attack, but off the resulting scrum the Springboks produced a series of powerful carries close to the line with the final, decisive carry coming from Pieter Steph du Toit, who crashed over 15 metres in from the left-hand flag.
Libbok missed another kick, but redeemed himself in stunning fashion just moments later as his delicious no-look crossfield kick landed in the grateful hands of Arendse, who burst over from 35 yards into the right hand corner before de Klerk – now on kicking duties – slotted a touchline conversion for a 15-point lead.
In just over five minutes, Scotland had gone from celebrating a South African penalty miss that kept the deficit at three points, to staring up at a deficit that now showed three scores.
With the Springboks completing negating the Scots’ late first-half set piece strength and beginning to dominate at scrum time too, the job was becoming even more difficult despite bright moments continuing to appear sporadically for Gregor Townsend’s side.
A well-executed 50:22 from Russell looked to have given Graham a chance for a close-range quick lineout, but with the winger picking the wrong ball the officials pulled the play back.
South African captain Siya Kolisi’s turnover a few minutes later was indicative of how the Springbok pack had now taken charge in all areas, but moments of desperate defence in the final quarter showed how Scotland refused to throw in the towel and make it easy for the 2019 winners.
Cheslin Kolbe was first hauled down by a brilliant Russell tackle after a break from halfway, and then Grant Williams was denied one of the great World Cup tries as he broke from ten metres from his own line to Scotland’s half, beating five defenders before eventually being clipped by Huw Jones.
It was the last big opportunity of the contest, and though South Africa may have left the field disappointed not to get a four-try bonus point and Scotland a losing one, the quality of rugby played in the second half will leave both hopeful they can have a big say in this year’s tournament.
Scottish skipper Jamie Ritchie said: “Credit to South Africa for putting us under pressure. Yes, we created opportunities, but we pride ourselves on taking those opportunities, so we have to be better.
“I’m really proud how we fronted up physically. I thought our defence was excellent, we really took it to them physically.
“Plenty of time to dust ourselves off, all the hard work we have put in has not gone away, it is one set-back but we have loads to play for.”
Teams: Read Assistant Editor Ben Jaycock’s player ratings here
SOUTH AFRICA: Willemse, Arense, Kriel, De Allende, Kolbe, Libbok (Le Roux 69), de Klerk (Williams 75); Kitshoff (Nche 53), Marx (Mbonambi 48), Malherbe (Nyakane 54), Etzebeth (Snyman 26), Mostert, Kolisi (van Staden 65), Du Toit, Wiese (Vermeulen 60)
SCOTLAND: Kinghorn, Graham (Smith 65), Jones, Tuipulotu (Redpath 67), Van der Merwe, Russell, White (Price 67); Schoeman (Bhatti 56), Turner (Cherry 56), Z Fagerson (Nel 56), R Gray, Gilchrist (Cummings 56), Ritchie (c), Darge (Fagerson 65), Dempsey
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Attendance: 63,566
Star Man: Franco Mostert (South Africa)
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