Preview Scotland v Boks

The Springboks take on Scotland in their final Rugby World Cup warm-up game in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Francois Steyn starts at inside centre, his fourth different position in the Bok side after previously playing at fullback, flyhalf and wing.

“It has always been our plan for him to fly straight to Scotland,” said Jake White.

“He knew ten days ago that he would be at inside centre on Saturday.

“He played at inside centre as a junior and also for the SA under-19s. He won the under-19 World Cup by scoring a drop-goal. He is one of those players who can operate at flyhalf and inside centre.”

Only three players survive from the warm-up game against Connacht – JP Pietersen switches from fullback to wing, Butch James moves from inside centre to flyhalf and Danie Rossouw starts at eighthman, replacing Bob Skinstad.

“JP recently started getting his nose ahead of players who were ahead of him,” explained White.

“He is playing really well. We would like to see this week what he can achieve with his speed. We want to see whether we can have really speedy outside backs, with him and Bryan Habana.

“Ashwin has a lot of experience but we feel JP has done enough during the past weeks to start against Scotland.

“We know what we have in Jaque Fourie, Butch James, André Pretorius, Fourie du Preez, Ricky Januarie, Percy Montgomery and Bryan Habana. What is happening now, is that the players are pushing hard for the one or two jerseys that are still available.”

Victor Matfield captains the side in the absence of John Smit who is still struggling with a hamstring injury picked up during the Tri Nations.

Match Details:

Event: Rugby World Cup warm-up
Date: Saturday 25 August 2007
Venue: Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
Kick-off: 17:00 SA (18:00 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Berdos (FRA)
Touch-judges: Rob Debney (ENG), Roy Maybank (ENG)

Broadcast Details:

South Africa TV (SuperSport):
25 Aug 16:45 SA MNET/SS1 INTL: Scotland v South Africa

UK TV (BBC):
25 Aug 17:00 UK BBC2 INTL: Scotland v South Africa

USA Web TV (MediaZone):
25 Aug 12:00 ET INTL: Scotland v South Africa

Teamsheets:

[TABLE=24]

All Previous Results:

[TABLE=25]

Played: 18
South Africa: 14
Scotland: 04

Match facts:> The Springboks have played 12 Tests at Murrayfield , winning nine, with no draws. One of these Tests was against Spain during Rugby World Cup1999.> Total points for South Africa against Scotland at this venue are 304 while 112 points were conceded. The average score is 28-10, in South Africa’s favour.

> The biggest winning margin for the Springboks was in 1997 when they won 68-10, while the biggest losing margin was 15 points when Scotland won 21-6 in 2000.

> Should South Africa win on Saturday, it will be a record sixth successive win against Scotland since the loss in 2002.

> South Africa, with a combined 515 Test caps in the starting 15, is slightly more experienced than their opponents with 395 Test caps in their starting line-up.

> Percy Montgomery holds the match records against Scotland for most points (26), most conversions (8), most penalty goals, and shares the try scoring record for most tries (2) with six other players of which Bryan Habana is one. Jaco van der Westhuyzen is the only Springbok to kick three drop goals in a Test against Scotland.

> Percy and Os du Randt are the most capped players against Scotland with six Tests each, with Victor Matfield on five Tests.

> Percy needs 11 points on Saturday to become the first Springbok to score 100 career points against Scotland, and one try to equal Joost van der Westhuizen’s record of 4 career tries against Scotland. He is also the record holder with 16 career conversions and 14 career penalty goals.

What they’re saying:

Frank Hadden (Scotland coach):

“South Africa are second favourites to win the World Cup but our boys are in bullish mood and are determined to rectify the results of last year.

“I thought we stood off them a bit in the first Test, but not in the second. That match could have gone either way and that’s exactly the approach we’ll be taking into the game this weekend.

“We know exactly how the South Africans approach the game and it’s very straightforward. They’ll be trying to impose their physical presence on us, and we’ll be trying to do the same, so I think it’s an absolutely fantastic contest in store.

“We are trying to achieve a combination of generating a bit of match practice and generating a bit of momentum going into the World Cup.

“You have to have the squad playing, they have to be fit to play, but you also don’t want to lose the continuity that you gain by keeping the same side together – so we’re trying to find a fine balancing line with that one.

“What happened against Ireland is that we found out where we are in terms of our preparation, but it wasn’t the smoothest performance in the world and there are certainly various things for us to work on.

“We know that our task this weekend is to take another step up the ladder and raise the bar again.

“What’s important this weekend is that we acquit ourselves in a way that we didn’t in the first Test in South Africa last year, and we give our supporters a last opportunity to see what we are capable of before the competition starts in a few weeks’ time.

“With our first World Cup game 19 days away, Saturday is a massive challenge for us.

“As ever the selection is about identifying a team that can win.

“In this case it’s also about striking a balance between giving as many players in the squad game time and looking for continuity after our victory earlier this month against Ireland.

“Simon Taylor could have played this weekend but we’ve decided in light of the very deep gash to his face that he sustained against Ireland that it will do him no harm to rest.

“South Africa will come to Edinburgh with the same ruthless attitude they’ve possessed for the past 100 years, I expect it to be a belter of a game – a full-blooded Test match.

“It will be rugby in the raw. South Africa bring three words to my mind – passion, power and confrontation.

“I’m sure their approach will be no different from usual, despite the fact their World Cup opener against Samoa is only a couple of weeks away.

“That is why it is important that we cut down our error count and get in their faces early on. The South Africans perform with relentless aggression – a quality that has caught Scotland out in the past. This time we must be ready for it.

Jason White (Scotland captain):

“The big thing is that we need to compete on a level playing field physically.

“Naturally, they are bigger guys than us, but a lot has been said about our pre-season and we are a lot more powerful at the moment, so we’re looking to even things out a little bit in the heavyweight stakes.

“It gives us a lot of confidence that we were able to take on the Irish team in our last match and outpower them quite convincingly. But this match will be an opportunity to gauge were we are really at in that department.

“We just want to get out on the pitch to play, put in a good performance and then look forward to getting over to France and getting stuck into the World Cup.

“Conditioning-wise we are in the best shape we have ever been as a squad and looking back to where we were when we played South Africa in Durban and Port Elizabeth last summer, we need to improve on that performance.

“Rugby has moved on and so have we as a squad, and we’re looking to lay down a really powerful marker going into the World Cup.

“Two games is not a lot to be hitting the peak of your form and it’s going to be a tough test for us, but our theme throughout the World Cup is to take things game by game and look to improve as we go right through.

“We respect them but we have absolutely nothing to fear from them.

“We’re proud to go out at Murrayfield and I’m confident that we can do a really good job.

“And if we play to our absolute potential then we are definitely capable of winning.

“If we do beat them, it will generate a lot of momentum going into the World Cup.

“Hopefully the public are going to get right behind us if we put in a good performance.”

Lewis Stewart (Scottish jounalist):

“The big change in Scotland’s game has undoubtedly been the acquisition of a pack of forwards capable of taking on the likes of the Springboks without feeling physically intimidated.  After all, this Scotland pack is slightly bigger than the one that demolished the side Ireland put out in their last game, and at a combined weight of more than 142st is right up there among the world’s heavyweights.”

Ross Ford (Scotland hooker):

“I’ve spoken to some of the more experienced players in the squad like Jason White and Scott Murray. They have said that they are as big as they look on the telly, but the way we’ve trained this summer we’re quite confident in our ability to match them.  They are one of the best scrummaging teams in the world so it is definitely going to be a big challenge for Gavin Kerr, Euan Murray and myself in the Scottish front-row to make our mark and set the tone rather than let them have it all their own way.”

Jake White (Springbok coach – after the Connacht game):

“I recall the Springboks having a similarly disappointing performance against Romania just prior to the 1995 World Cup, and they moved up a gear and never looked back.  I would hope that we now lift ourselves for a very tough match against Scotland on Saturday.”