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1 hour ago
2
Key events
Outstanding game so far, with Scotland fronting up vs a formidable team in a formidable stadium.
There will be some commenting that this is weaker Bok team, and while true to an extent that should not take away from Scotland’s performance especially after going 14 points down out the gate.
Half time!
That score is the final act of a very entertaining half.
TRY! South Africa 14 - 14 Scotland (Kyle Rowe)
39 mins. They certainly can! The ball is won from the lineout and Scotland set about the defensive line with repeated runs, moving the point of attack. Tuipulotu straightens up and his one-handed offload finds Rowe in support to canter over unopposed.
Conversion added.
36 mins. A few kicks back and forth as each side probes for an error, and it’s advantage Scotland for Fassi fiddling with the ruck. Russell send it to touch, can Scotland get themselves level before the half?
TRY! South Africa 14 - 7 Scotland (Matt Fagerson)
34 mins. Tapped penalty followed by a couple of carries, the last of which is Fagerson driving over to ground it.
Russell converts.
33 mins. The ball is held a little too long in the scrum under their own posts by South Africa, this invites a call for a massive shove from Scotland and it forces a collapse. Penalty to the visitors, that they opt to tap and go.
32 mins. A well constructed attack from the lineout moves the ball to the middle of the field for Russell to have a strong, darting run, followed by Brown muscling forward. This weakens the Bok defence but Ashman bounces the ball forward off his hands when charging for the line from 5 metres.
30 mins. When they apply pressure, as they have just done once more with a multi-phase and busy attack, Scotland are forcing penalties out of the Bok defence. The ball is sent to touch 7 metres from the tryline for a lineout.
28 mins. A lively attack from Scotland full of offloads and strong runs from the forwards, but inevitably the longer it goes on the more isolated the runners become, allowing Nortje to get his hands on it.
26 mins. The lineout is won by Scotland in the 22, triggering a move to bring the ball back towards the short side via Ben White. But his run offers the tiniest hint of isolation and thus opportunity to Grobelaar who clamps on the ball and wins a relieving penalty.
23 mins. After the drinks break, Scotland emerge from the fog of the hammering of last 10 minutes via big carry from Tuipulotu. They are into the Bok 22, probing the defence on a penalty advantage, moving the ball left to Ashman who is bundled into touch.
TRY! South Africa 14 - 0 Scotland (Evan Roos)
19 mins. Wiese rises to claim the restart, lands and then sets off on a rampaging, humiliating, soul-puncturing run through the defence. He pops it to keep the attack going and soon they are on the line and driving hard and repeatedly, the last of which is Roos squeezing over from inches.
TRY! South Africa 7 - 0 Scotland (Embrose Papier)
17 mins. The Boks come back from the drop out and after a couple of phases Papier hops over the ruck, shimmies and jinks and he’s clear to run 25 metres up to the line to open the scoring.
15 mins. The bok scrum mashes the Scots like a glacier at full throttle. Nothing comes from the penalty advantage and so they opt for another scrum, which Scotland negate by giving away a free kick for early engagement. Roos goes quickly up to the line to set off waves of muscular short carries, each repelled by Scotland until Dempsey gets underneath and holds up the ball.
Cue ecstatic cheers from the Scottish defence.
12 mins. The Boks have their attacking blood up, however, and their first visit to the 22 brings a penalty for Dempsey not rolling away. It’s in the shadow of the posts but South Africa opt for a scrum, because of course they do.
9 mins. A worrying moment for Scotland as a Papier kick is allowed to bounce in behind with a gathering green group of shirts very close on the chase. Russell turns, dives on it at full stretch and grips it to his chest long enough for his ruck clearers to arrive, set it and let White clear the lines.
7 mins. Bok discipline is once more wanting under pressure with Wiese again infringing, this time for entering a maul from the side. Russell puts it into touch for a 5m lineout platform that is ruined by Ashman not throwing straight. Papier boots clear from the scrum.
4 mins. A few carries from South Africa are contained by the Scottish defence, before Wiese goes off his feet at the ruck allowing Russeel to find touch in the Bok half.
2 mins. Ben White finds a solid touch after the restart and the first mistake of the game is a Bok one, with Grobelaar overthrowing the lineout and handing possession to Scotland on halway. They waste no time spreading it wide to Rowe then Ashman bu the holds on a bit too long on the ground. Penalty SA.
Officials for today:
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Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
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Assistant Referee 1: James Doleman (New Zealand)
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Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
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TMO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
KICK OFF!
Pollard sets us off with a big boot.
New Zealand meant business earlier, have a read of the match report here.
Send me all your thoughts, views, questions or whatever on the email. I look forward to reading them.
Teams
South Africa: Aphelele Fassi; Edwill van der Merwe, Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse, Canan Moodie; Handre Pollard, Embrose Papier; Boan Venter, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw; Cobus Wiese, Ruan Nortje; Paul de Villiers, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Evan Roos.
Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Zach Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Vincent Tshituka, Elrigh Louw, Grant Williams, Quan Horn.
Scotland: Kyle Rowe; Kyle Steyn, Rory Hutchinson, Sione Tuipulotu, Jamie Dobie; Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Zander Fagerson; Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings; Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Rory Sutherland, Will Hurd, Alex Samuel, Josh Bayliss, Magnus Bradbury, Tom Jordan, Stafford McDowall.
Preamble
We live in a time of what many consider late-stage capitalism, with globalised finances and all that causing much debate about whether the deal that the dominant system of the last 300 years somehow makes us all better off may be broken.
Scotland is, of course, considered the birthplace of modern capitalism and if you ask daddy Scotsman of it all, Adam Smith, then it wasn’t really meant to be like this. Self-interest wasn’t meant to be completely selfish, it was more concerning the most efficient way to get stuff done/built/made. Funny that his nation’s team can’t grasp that 300 years later..
One team that can grasp such a concept and never ever let go of it is South Africa. But their self-interest is absolutely selfish in nature, like the living embodiment of 80s asset stippers they identify, take over, then systematically dismantle that which is in their way. Except they don’t sell the broken off bits for a profit, their reward is to feast on the humiliation of what remains then on to the next one. It is simultaneously logical and elemental, just ask England after last week.
Gregor Townsend’s side arrive in Pretoria off the back of a welcome win and performance vs Argentina even if there was a whiff of switching off late on from the men in blue. This could be forgiven as the game was well won at that stage, but it’s hard to see them in such a position today, even facing a heavily rotated Springbok squad.
