Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
South Africa reminded everyone why they have to be taken seriously at the World Cup as the ground out a physical 34-16 win over a solid Scotland side. The Springboks dominated possession and territory throughout most of the match and survived an early second half comeback from the Scots before pulling away down the stretch.
Despite their famous loss to Japan, South Africa now sits atop the Pool B table. With only the USA left on their schedule, the Springboks should easily take the pool. Scotland holds onto second place and has their quarterfinal destiny in their own hands. They need a win over Samoa in their final pool match to advance.
“We’re at our best if we’re written off so we have to keep the pressure on ourselves,” said South Africa Head Coach Heyneke Meyer. “I don’t know why but it’s part of our mentality. If the whole world writes us off, that’s when we come back.”
The Springboks got 19 points from the boot of Handre Pollard and tries from Schalk Burger, JP Pietersen, and Bryan Habana to pace their offense and keep Scotland at bay.
South Africa took the lead with a Schalk Burger try in the 13th minute. Pollard followed with the conversion and two penalty goals to stake South Africa to a 13-0 lead midway through the first half. Scotland wouldn’t get on the board until the 30th minute when scrumhalf Greig Laidlaw slotted a penalty goal to leave the score at 13-3.
With time dwindling on the first half, JP Pietersen extended the Springbok’s lead with a 38th minute try. The conversion from Pollard gave South Africa a 20-3 lead going into the break.
Desperately needing to get back into the game, the possession starved Scotland side attempted to mount a second half comeback as they had in each of their first two World Cup matches. Laidlaw got them off to a good start with a 45th minute penalty.
With South Africa deep in the Scotland half, an errand pass was intercepted by Duncan Weir whom raced down the pitch. Tommy Seymour was the final recipient of the ball and touched down to cut into the Springbok lead. The conversion from Laidlaw put the score at 20-13.
Pollard stepped in to stem the tide and knocked down a drop goal in the 51st minute. Duncan Weir, taking on kicking duties for Laidlaw who was sent to the sin bin in the 53rd minute, nailed a penalty to place the score at 23-16 to the Springbok’s favor as the match rolled into the final quarter.
Having survived the push from Scotland, South Africa began to turn the screws on the match as Scotland began to show signs of the grueling match. Pollard extended South Africa’s lead with penalties in the 62nd and 68th minutes. Wing Bryan Habana put the exclamation point on the victory with a try in the 73rd minute to give South Africa a 34-16 lead.
It was a much improved performance from South Africa as they dictated the pace for much of the match. Despite the loss, Scotland is still in excellent position to move onto the quarterfinals. Head Coach Vern Cotter opted for a bit of a second side lineup against South Africa. Scotland could prove to be a dark horse in the knockout stage. They’ll need to take care of business against Samoa to get there.
Scoring Summary
South Africa 34
Tries: Burger (8′, Pietersen 38′, Habana 73′)
Conv: Pollard (9′, 40′)
Pen: Pollard (17′, 27′, 62′, 38′)
Drop Goal: Pollard (51′)
Scotland 16
Tries: Seymour (49′)
Conv: Laidlaw (50′)
Pen: Laidlaw (30′, 45′), Weir (60′)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jGcxVXGsQY
