AFTER the seismic tremor of the first weekend, the dust has settled on Pool B and the natural order has been restored. Having got the shock of losing to Japan out of their system in their next game against Samoa, the Springboks were their old selves against Scotland on Saturday: brutally assertive and bursting with self-belief in a 34-16 win that took them to the top of the pool.
They never looked like losing to Vern Cotter’s team, and the fact that they did not get a bonus point is now irrelevant. If they beat the United States on Wednesday, they will hold on to their current position, and go through to a quarter-final against the losers of the Pool A decider between Australia and Wales.
The task is just as straightforward for Scotland. Beat Samoa in five days’ time and as runners-up they will meet the winners of that Pool A game. Lose, and they can then be overtaken by Japan, who meet the USA on Sunday.
Scotland were beaten but not battered into submission by South Africa; defeated but not dismayed. When they were 20-3 down at half-time the prospect of a dispiriting loss loomed large, but for the third match in succession they played far better after the break.
The slow start is an issue that will be addressed in training this week, because that is one thing which, if repeated, could give the Samoans hope. Otherwise, the message from Cotter to his squad will be more of the same, please, only with fewer errors.
The defence is still very well drilled. The attack was more predictable and more easily contained without Mark Bennett, but on the whole it continues to improve.
The Glasgow centre should be back for the Samoa game, and John Hardie, too, is likely to return. Finn Russell, another key absentee on Saturday, should also be a lot closer to full fitness by the coming weekend, but Cotter could have a close call to make in selection between Russell and Duncan Weir, who deputised for him here.
Weir mixed his game up well between kicking and passing, and launched the long-range counter-attack that led to Tommy Seymour’s try. Patience and composure could be crucial against Samoa, and he has both. What is more, Russell might well be better off with another week’s rest. Selecting him on the bench could be the wisest decision.
Otherwise, Cotter will return to the strongest line-up available to him, which means starting with Alasdair Dickinson and Ross Ford in the front row alongside WP Nel. In the absence of the first-choice loosehead prop and hooker, Scotland were up against it at times in the scrum, and their loss of the first set piece of the game was an early indication that things were not going well.
The power of the Springbok pack was in evidence there, as it was in the loose not long afterwards when they rumbled deep into the Scottish 22. Their forwards were twice held up close to the line, but eventually they crossed it, with credit for the score going to Schalk Burger. Handre Pollard converted the try and added two penalties before Greig Laidlaw got Scotland off the mark with three points.
JP Pietersen grabbed a second try following a lineout drive when his team were down to 14 men after the sinbinning of Jannie du Plessis, and Pollard’s conversion was the last score of the first half.
Laidlaw got the first score of the second with a penalty, and then came Scotland’s try, begun from deep inside his own half by Weir, and finished off by Seymour after Tim Visser had injected fresh pace into the counter-attack. Laidlaw’s conversion gave the scoreboard a more optimistic look at 20-13, but Pollard soon hit back with a drop goal.
With Laidlaw in the bin for a professional foul, Weir took over the kicking duties and made it 23-16 with a penalty, but Pollard replied in kind almost immediately, then added another penalty to make it 29-16 with ten minutes to play.
Scotland’s hopes of winning were over, but at least they were not despondent. Bryan Habana forced his way over for an unconverted try, but the bonus-point score did not materialise.
Given the South Africans’ need to win well, and Scotland’s to rest some big names, the outcome was no disgrace. Scotland have lost to the top seeds in the pool, and won well against the most lowly-ranked sides. They are in a good place. They know they can keep getting better. They should prove as much by beating Samoa well.
SOUTH AFRICA: Tries: Burger, Pietersen, Habana. Cons: Pollard 2. Pens: Pollard 4. Drop goal: Pollard.
SCOTLAND: Try: Seymour. Con: Laidlaw. Pens: Laidlaw 2, Weir.
South Africa: W le Roux; JP Pietersen (P Lambie 71), J Kriel, D de Allende (J Serfontein 75), B Habana; H Pollard, F du Preez (R Pienaar 78); T Mtawarira (T Nyakane 61), B du Plessis (A Strauss 56), J du Plessis (F Malherbe 50), E Etzebeth, L de Jager (P-S du Toit 74), F Louw, S Burger ( W Alberts 70), D Vermeulen.
Scotland: S Hogg (S Lamont 63); T Seymour, R Vernon (P Horne 65), M Scott, T Visser, D Weir, G Laidlaw (S Hidalgo-Clyne 70); G Reid (A Dickinson 51), F Brown (R Ford 61), WP Nel (J Welsh 64), R Gray, J Gray (T Swinson 68), J Strauss (R Wilson 55), B Cowan, D Denton
Referee: N Owens (Wales). Attendance: 50,900.
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