Well, that was a must-win game for South Africa and they did just that. Pollard was great as was Habana and there should be a shout-out for the all the work their forwards got through during those 80 minutes. Scotland now must win against Samoa. That should be one intriguing affair. That’s all from me. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Bye!
Full-time: Scotland 16-34 South Africa
That. Is. Your. Lot.
79 mins Not much happening now. Both sides know where this one is going.
76 mins Lambie on for Pietersen; Du Toit for De Jager; Serfontein for De Allende; Alberts for Burger.
74 mins Pollard misses the conversion! Well, there’s a first.
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Try! (Habana, 73 mins) Scotland 16-34 South Africa
This all starts from some very nice work from Pollard. South Africa have spent the last few minutes attacking and attacking, going through phase after phase with Scotland looking strong enough. It will need something special to break them and that comes from Pollard. The ball came back to Pollard in the pocket and he faked a drop goal stance before skipping past a few Scotland defenders. It was a lovely move that was followed by more pushing from South Africa via Strauss. From his efforts, Du Preez picks up the ball and Habana, who has been dangerous all day, powers his way over the line from a few meters out.
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70 mins Laidlaw goes Hidalgo-Clyne comes. Lineout for Scotland. From that they sweep the ball to the right-hand side. Hidalgo-Clyne sends them back to the other side. Scotland do their best to make an impression on the South African defence but it continues to hold firmer than something very firm. Eventually, and not unexpectedly, the ball is turned over.
69 mins Matt Dony wants to rant so let’s let him rant.
Now, bear with me, this might be controversial. Big events like World Cups bring together even those who don’t normally watch sport. Which is good. But that includes people who don’t watch sport, but still try and tell you about sport (that you watch all the freaking time). Which is bad. I’m fed up of being told ‘Of course, rugby players just get up and get on with it, while football players roll around like they’ve been shot,’ as if it’s some great revelation. As football won’t rid itself of diving any time soon, I welcome a little bit of diving in rugby, just to shut up those people. Rant over.
With that over we go back to the game. The crowd are not happy because Pietersen fails to bring Swinson (who has just come on for J Gray) down from a tackle with the requisite amount of safety. The winger should be yellow-carded but he isn’t. Penalty to Scotland.
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Penalty! (Pollard, 68 mins) Scotland 16-29 South Africa
You know the deal by now.
66 mins A lineout to South Africa on the halfway line. Burger claims and pumps his way through some tackles. South Africa retain possession and try their luck in the inside right channel. They barge and barge their way to the 22 and Pollard wants to go for the drop goal. Instead of that Du Preez, pops one over to find Pieterse. He doesn’t but Scotland refused to let go in the ruck and so South Africa go back for the penalty in front of the posts.
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64 mins More, more, more, subs to tell you about. Ford for Brown; Nyakane for Mtawarira; Lamont for Hogg; Welsh for Nel.
Penalty! (Pollard, 62 mins) Scotland 16-26 South Africa
How good is Pollard? Very good. He slots it over from a decent way out.
61 mins There could be more bad news for Scotland. Hogg is hobbling and looking hurt. Meanwhile, Pollard lines up another penalty ...
Penalty! (Weir, 60 mins) Scotland 16-23 South Africa
Would you be worried now if you were a South African supporter?
58 mins After that knock on, Pietersen knocks on another time at the breakdown. Scotland push the ball down the left for a lineout. Scotland maul and maul and then pop one over the top to try find the run of Visser. They don’t as Pietersen gets there before him but Burger went in at the side of the maul and so it is a penalty to Scotland.
57 mins Some subs to tell you about. Malherbe for J Du Plessis; Dickinson for Reid; Wilson for Strauss; Strauss for BW Du Plessis. Meanwhile, it’s a scrum to South Africa in their own half. they hold it well and launch and attack on the left. There is space for Habana but he is cut down in full flow and eventually South Africa knock on.
56 mins Yeah, kinda.
@ianmccourt Did Hogg just become a soccer player with that theatrical display?
— Satch of Bridgend (@SatchofBridgend) October 3, 2015
54 mins “In answer to Stephen Cutts’ question,” answers my colleague Dan Lucas, “some referees ignore high tackles that start around the chest and slip up to the neck. It’s put down to an interpretation of the laws, but it’s plain wrong as tackles have to be judged one where they end up, not where they start.”
52 mins After all that good news for Scotland, here comes some bad news. Laidlaw is the second player to be sent to the bin of sin for taking out Habana off the ball. Silly stuff.
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Drop goal! (Pollard, 50 mins) Scotland 13-23 South Africa
And while all that was being typed, South Africa drove forward and Pollard knocked a drop goal over from an easy angle for a player of his quality.
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Conversion! (Laidlaw) Scotland 13-20 South Africa
Laidlaw knocks it over.
Try! (Seymour, 48 mins) Scotland 11-20 South Africa
WOW! WOW! WOW! South Africa had Scotland under immense pressure inside their own 22. The Springboks spread the ball wide as they looked for a try but Weir read the situation beautifully and intercepted a pass from Du Preez. He booted his way a good 70m down the pitch before being hauled down by Pietersen. Lucky for him, Visser was i support and he took the ball before popping a pass to Seymour on the inside who crashed over the line. What a try that was.
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46 mins Now, now this is interesting. South Africa over-and-undered one and Hogg came to claim it. Only when he was in the air, he could see that Mtawarira was coming for him and he dived. Owens has a very stern word with him about it.
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Penalty! (Laidlaw, 45 mins) Scotland 6-20 South Africa
Laidlaw could not miss.
44 mins They take the lineout and look to force their way forward. They don’t have much luck there so they try the inside. The moves comes to an end thanks to a massive hit by Pollard on Denton, I think. But all is not lost for Scotland. Vermeulen came in at the wrong angle at the breakdown and Scotland have a penalty, a few meters out right in front of the posts.
43 mins Scotland get some early ball carries in their legs. They try and try to unlock the South African defence but it is not for the unlocking. Eventually, South Africa fail to pull away at the breakdown and so it is a penalty to Scotland. Laidlaw deciders against going for the posts and opts for the lineout.
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41 mins The relevant authorities are now saying that first try was Burger’s.
40 mins We are back with Scotland playing left to right and we are back with an email from Stephen Cutts who wants to talk about South Africa’s tackling. Says Stephen.
So I have counted 4 neck tackles by the Springboks so far, none of which have been penalissd. Actually make that 5 now - in minute 39. I’m presumably really missing something. Or just not understanding the rules. I’ve no particular affinity with Scotkand so not sure where this Mr Angry is coming from.
Can anyone explain this? Or failing that, can anyone explain where Stephen’s Mr Angry is coming from?
Well, will it?
STAT: #RSA have led 26 times at half-time during RWC matches & have delivered 25 victories... will this trend continue? #RSAvSCO
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 3, 2015
Half-time: Scotland 3-20 South Africa
And that is the last piece of significant action in this half.
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Conversion! (Pollard) Scotland 3-20 South Africa
Pollard does not miss.
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Try! (Pietersen, 39 mins) Scotland 3-18 South Africa
This is too easy for South Africa. After that attack, they won a lineout, near the corner flag on the right. De Jager rose and claimed it and South Africa started to maul. They pushed and pushed and then, just meters from the line, Du Preez popped the ball inside to Pietersen who just needed a step or two to take the ball over the line.
3 - JP Pietersen has scored a try in each of his last three games against #SCO. Thorn.
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) October 3, 2015
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37 mins Scotland go through some phases but Laidlaw goes to sleep and Habana nips in and nips the ball away. Vermeulen steps on the gas and goes on the attack. He is supported by Habana but his offload to the winger is not quite right and the momentum is sucked out of the attack.
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36 mins That is a lot of work. Can they keep it up for the rest of the match though?
74 tackles by Scotland, 31 by South Africa so far. Scots getting through a pile of work in defence #RSAvSCO #RWC2015
— Tristan Barclay (@tbarclayESPN) October 3, 2015
35 mins Laidlaw goes for the posts from a position that is wide on the left. It doesn’t quite have the legs.
34 mins There is a break in play for some injured bodies and that gives the referee some time to look at the tackling of Jannie Du Plessis. He is not using his arms as he comes into the tackle and he already has a warning beside his name so it is to the sin-bin he goes.
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32 mins I missed which Springbok it was was – I think it might have been Etzebeth or De Jager – but when Owens was talking to them about that last penalty, they replied with a ‘sorry sir’. How cute.
Penalty! (Laidlaw, 30 mins) Scotland 3-13 South Africa
Scotland win a penalty after South African infringe at the breakdown. They point for the posts. It’s a good 35 yards out but Laidlaw kicks it over with ease and Scotland are on the scoresheet.
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29 mins “I reckon the lads on TV are out of their minds,” reckons Des. “Matfield is the quintessential experienced captain and acolossus in the line-out. I’m not sure Etzebeth or De Jager can fill those boots just yet.”
Penalty! (Pollard, 27 mins) Scotland 0-13 South Africa
Pollard got game.
26 mins Pietersen finds himself with the ball in his hands and some space at his feet. He tries to skip past Scotland but they haul him to the ground. Mtawarira takes over – the crowd love that – and after his efforts, South Africa try the left-hand side. It comes to Du Plessis and despite having Habana outside him, he tries to slip a kick through the defence. Lucky for Scotland it comes off a heel and the danger of a try is averted. No need for South Africa to get too down about it though as they have a penalty for Brown being offside.
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24 mins Laidlaw is penalised for changing lanes. South Africa go for the corner and, get this, actually fail to claim the resulting lineout thanks to some fabulous work from Gray. That is the first lineout they have lost in the entire tournament.
22 mins Weir launches it long and high. Le Roux comes and collects with the safest of hands. If there was one man you would want catching a baby falling from a high window, it might just be Le Roux. Or Rob Kearney.
20 mins The lads on TV reckon Victor Matfield won’t make it back into the side when his hamstrings recover. What do you reckon? Have they got a point?
19 mins Hogg takes a long kick and looks to dance his way through the defence. South Africa hold him and up with ease and clear their lines. Scotland come back and win another lineout. Under good pressure, they knock that on. Vern will not be happy about that.
Penalty! (Pollard, 17 mins) Scotland 10-0 South Africa
Pollard sets himself up, has a decent stare at the posts and from a simple angle, he puts the ball where he wants it to go.
16 mins A lineout to South Africa on the half-way line. They win that with ease before binding and driving. They push back Scotland like they would a door and Scotland are eventually penalised. After yet more handbags, Pollard points to the posts.
14 mins “Afternoon Ian,” cheers Simon McMahon. “It’s come to something when I’m relying on the Scotland rugby team to lift my spirits. Well, that’s not strictly true. Alcohol helps too. Please drink responsibly.”
Conversion! (Pollard) Scotland 0-7 South Africa
Pollard does not miss with the conversion.
Try! (Burger, 12 mins) Scotland 0-5 South Africa
South Africa take the lead.
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12 mins They crash and crash against the Scotland defensive wall and Du Plessis (or is it Burger?) finds their way over the line. Owens goes to the TMO to see what has happened. While he is doing that, handbags are swung.
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10 mins Scotland do a double penalty at the breakdown. Silly boys since we all know how excellent the South Africa lineout is. They win it from the resulting peanlty and swing the ball to the left. Some great hands from Le Roux feeds Pietersen and South Africa move within a few meters of the Scotland line.
8 mins Well, well. Helped by the power of Mtawarira, South Africa spin that scrum and now have one of their own. Du Preez feeds De Allende and South Africa kick deep. Scotland try the running game and gain some yards until Brown is taken down by Pietersen.
6 mins A lineout to Scotland right on the South Africa 22. They take that but Bismarck Du Plessis gets a talking to for having his hands where he shouldn’t. Scrum Scotland.
4 mins Scotland won that well and push the ball back to Hogg. He fakes to kick and instead puts his foot to the pedal. He is in space and has time but he forward passes and it’s a scrum to South Africa. They hold that well and De Allende attacks with venom. However, De Jager is penalised at the breakdown and Scotland can breath a sigh of relief.
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2 mins The game gets going with a few misplaced kicks from the Scots and some better placed kicks from South Africa. Habana catches one of those deep in Scotland territory and South Africa look to attack down the right. That goes nowhere so they switch play with another kick towards Habana. He can’t do anything with it and it’s a lineout to Scotland.
1 min Off we go. South Africa, dressed in white, get us going. They will spend the first half attacking left to right.
3 - #SCO are aiming to win three @rugbyworldcup games in a row for the first time since 1999. Target.
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) October 3, 2015
Scotland trot out from the home dressing room, South Africa trot out from the away one, the frames of the second-rows just about fitting in under the 7ft ceiling. The crowd, which looks to be mostly made up of Scots who have dashed down south, give the two sides a roar that Tony the Tiger would be proud of. The teams off-key their way through the respective anthems, whip off any excess clothes and relocate themselves to their starting spots. Like Dr Dre said, it’s game time.
It’s almost time. Any predictions?
It’s all over in the game between Japan and Samoa, with the Japanese running out 26-5 winners. There will be a couple of teams blowing out their cheeks when they hear that.
2 - #JPN have won two games at a @rugbyworldcup for the first time ever. Cherry.
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) October 3, 2015
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Come on now with your answers. Don’t be shy.
Two Springboks questions. How do you (not you personally, you in general) stop the their maul? And does anyone else think they are perhaps not fit enough? (They seem to be conceding a lot of late points lately.) Send your answers to the email address above.
In case you have been on Mars for the last few weeks, in a cave, with your eyes shut and you fingers in your ears, Japan are awesome at rugby. In fact, they are so awesome they are playing in front of a record attendance of just over 29,000 at stadium:mk, where they are currently beating Samoa with ease. It’s 26-0 and there is about 16 minutes to go. You can join my colleague Dan Lucas for the latest updates.
Here are those teams
Scotland: 15. Stuart Hogg; 14. Tommy Seymour, 13. Richie Vernon, 12. Matt Scott, 11. Tim Visser; 10. Duncan Weir, 9. Greig Laidlaw (captain); 8. Dave Denton, 7. Blair Cowan, 6. Josh Strauss, 5. Jonny Gray, 4. Richie Gray, 3. WP Nel, 2. Fraser Brown, 1. Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16. Ross Ford: 17. Alasdair Dickinson, 18. Jon Welsh, 19. Tim Swinson, 20. Ryan Wilson, 21. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22. Pete Horne, 23. Sean Lamont.
South Africa: 15. Willie Le Roux; 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Damian De Allende, 11. Bryan Habana; 10. Handre Pollard, 9. Fourie Du Preez (captain); 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Schalk Burger, 6. Francois Louw, 5. Lodewyk De Jager, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Jannie Du Plessis, 2. Bismarck Du Plessis, 1. Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16. Adriaan Strauss, 17. Trevor Nyakane, 18. Frans Malherbe, 19. Pieter-Steph Du Toit, 20. Willem Alberts, 21. Ruan Pienaar, 22. Pat Lambie, 23. Jan Serfontein.
Referee: Nigel Owens
And here are said teams in a handy-graphic format:
.@Scotlandteam make 11 changes for clash with #RSA at St James' Park on Saturday #RSAvSCO pic.twitter.com/O0slBw4wi7
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 1, 2015
Fourie du Preez will captain the @Springboks for the first time when #RSA face #SCO on Saturday #RSAvSCO #RWC2015 pic.twitter.com/Ivswd10dvY
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 30, 2015
Good afternoon
It was not supposed to be like this. Coming into this game, the script for the 2015 Rugby World Cup read that South Africa would be first in their group, having hammered all before them, while Scotland would be second and shaking like a substandard postiche in a strong October wind at the very thought of being within tackling distance of the Springboks. Helped by that win, Scotland sit top of pool B, with South Africa in second and that original script has since been recycled and turned into toilet roll, though not the sort of toilet roll that is good enough for the New York Jets. Honestly, did you ever hear the likes of it?
But getting back to the rugby and Scotland and their selection for this match. After the impressive enough win over USA and with the prospect of clinching a quarter-final spot, you would’ve thought that Vern Cotter might opt for something verging on continuity, especially as there is a sense that South Africa can be got at. However, he too took the script before ripping it up and sprinkling the pieces into the correct bin. OK, there were a few injuries for him to deal with which means Duncan Weir will start at fly-half after it was confirmed that Finn Russell’s ankle knock would keep him out, John Hardie’s head bash means his spot is taken by Blair Cowan, Jonny Gray takes over from Grant Gilchrist’s after his groin gave way and, of course, Greig Laidlaw returns as captain after he was given the day against the USA.
But there are some odd choices sprinkled elsewhere in the team. Gordon Reid and Richie Vernon make their bows at this World Cup (as does Cowan); Henry Pyrgos, who was captain against USA, is nowhere to be seen; and the same goes for Sean Maitland and Mark Bennett; while Ross Ford and Alasdair Dickinson have been forced to start from the bench. In short, there are 11 changes to the Scotland side from that bonus-point victory. The obvious explanation is the extra bulk that those lads bring but the selection has led to accusing Cotter of picking a second strong side and thinking of Samoa rather than South Africa.
Boy, did old Vern not like those that. With barely concealed fury, he replied to these accusations by saying: “No, we’ve only looked at this game. We’re not looking at the Samoa game. That’s next week. We’re looking at this game and we’re looking to put in a big performance, to have a real crack at these guys. If we get it right, we know where that brings us. We’ve still got another game to play and we’ll shift to that once this game’s finished. I didn’t get to choose the draw, unfortunately. This is our third game in ten days and we’ve taken that into account.
“We’ve looked at the workload and obviously potential injuries because of it. There are players we feel are probably better regenerating. We’re evening up the workloads up a little bit, bringing players who are fresh and will be keen to have a piece of the action. These players will be giving 100% of themselves. And it’s a team that will be competitive.” After that he added: “This is a massive test for our team. Playing South Africa is one of the biggest challenges you can face as a rugby player.”
He ain’t wrong. It’s a very big challenge against some very big boys. Some very big boys who will be without a very big player in Jean de Villiers, after his severe dose of jaw knack meant that he has no longer made himself available for international selection or Victor Matfield, due to some tight hamstrings. They will be replaced by Jesse Kriel and Lodewyk de Jager, while Bismarck du Plessis comes in for Adriaan Strauss at hooker. All of this means Fourie du Preez will be leading his country out onto the pitch, a decision Heyneke Meyer is more than happy with. “It was not easy to lose Jean and Victor but I have a lot of confidence in Fourie,” said Meyer. “I’ve coached him since he was 19 years old and even then I was astonished by his rugby knowledge. He is a rugby genius who is respected worldwide because of his knowledge of the game - when Fourie plays well, the team wins, even against the British Lions.”
So there has been three changes to the side, one change for the captaincy and a complete overhaul of the the lineout book. Black Monday was what Jannie du Plessis called it. “Our forwards coach came in and said, ‘OK, on the weekend Scotland will have Josh Strauss and WP Nel in their team. We respect them as rugby players and we respect their ability to understand lineout calls in Afrikaans. So we’re changing our calls ... We said, ‘What? All of them?’ Our coach said, ‘Yes, every one. We start today.’ There was more than one sigh of frustration in that room, I can tell you.” Given the importance of the lineout to South Africa’s game, it’s probably fair to say most of those sighs started with the letter C, or whatever the Afrikaans version of that word is.
So Scotland have (almost) changed an entire team and South Africa have (totally) changed one of the most important parts of their game plan. That should make for an interesting affair. As will the second-row battles between the Grays and Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager. (What a name that is by the way!). There is also the joy of getting to watch Kriel in action. He’s is going to be big, Gabby Hayes big, even if he is a bit inexperienced. Speaking of inexperience, Matt Scott and Vernon have played a mere 68 minutes together, Weir has started one Test match over the past 15 months and the Scotland front row has 27 caps which look pretty flimsy when you compare them to South Africa’s 210. But will South Africa’s experience see them come out on top? Or will Scotland have enough up their sleeves to emerge victorious? Stay tuned to find out. Eighty minutes of World Cup magic are on their way. Woop!
Kick-off: 4.45 B to the S to the T.
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