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'The current world rankings doesn’t indicate how tough it is to come and play here'

By Online Editors

Rassie Erasmus praised the Springboks’ growing maturity following their hard-fought 26-20 victory over a good very Scotland team in front of a capacity crowd at BT Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Saturday evening.

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The South Africans held a small halftime lead (20-17) over the enterprising Scots after a thrilling opening half, which saw both sides displaying some good attacking rugby.

Two well-taken penalty goals in the second half, one each by Handré Pollard and Elton Jantjies, eventually clinched the match for the Springboks. Pollard scored 18 points from a try, two conversions and three penalty goals, to help steer the result in the South Africans’ favour.

Pollard was named Man of the Match and in the process moved into third position on the all-time Springbok points’ scoring list with 336 Test points, surpassing top try scorer Bryan Habana’s 335.

Jesse Kriel scored the first try of the match while Scotland also scored twice in the first half, through Peter Horne and Hamish Watson. Greig Laidlaw succeeded with two conversions and two penalty goals.

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Erasmus, SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby, praised the Springboks’ opponents after the match: “To beat a team that has become a real force in world rugby, a team that is on up, in the middle of a good home run, is satisfying.

“The current world rankings doesn’t indicate how tough it is to come and play here and we could have lost the game in the dying minutes. We’re definitely not the finished product yet, but we are slowly growing into a better team.”

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The Springboks won their second Test of the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour and will be looking to make it three from four against Wales in Cardiff next week. They beat France in Paris last Saturday, but lost by a single point to England in London a fortnight ago.

Erasmus, though, mentioned the Boks they will not get carried away this win over a very dangerous Scotland side.

“We’re learning how to close out games and that’s why we won this game because Scotland were as good as us on the day,” said Erasmus.

“The maturity of this team is starting to show because we are now winning games from tight situations. We scored three points when Willie le Roux was off the field with a yellow card and they didn’t score.”

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But Erasmus admitted his side did not get the expected dominance in the scrums while Scotland also did well to stop the Boks’ driving maul.

The breakdown was however a key area where the Springboks performed admirably, according to Erasmus: “We did well at the breakdown, especially our work at the defensive breakdown where we won managed to win vital turnovers at important times.”

Erasmus also lauded 21-year-old Embrose Papier, who made his first start in the No 9 jersey for the Springboks and had a good game next to Pollard.

“I really think that in the case of Embrose, we got it right,” said Erasmus.

“We thought this was the right game for him, on this pitch and the way Scotland play suits him well, and he also handled it very well. Credit must also go to (Springbok assistant coaches) Mzwandile Stick and Swys de Bruin for the way they’ve blooded him into Test match rugby.”

The Springboks now travel to Cardiff where they will conclude their four-week tour of the United Kingdom and France next Saturday against Wales as the Principality Stadium.

Scorers:

South Africa 26 (20) – Tries: Jesse Kriel, Handré Pollard. Conversions: Pollard (2). Penalty goals: Pollard (3), Elton Jantjies.

Scotland 20 (17) – Tries: Peter Horne, Hamish Watson. Conversions: Greig Laidlaw (2). Penalty goals: Laidlaw (2).

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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