Springboks ready to beat Scotland by two to be fresher for England

Signals coming out of the camp in South Africa this week appear to be pushing Scotland to give the Rugby World Cup champions a tougher autumn fixture at Murrayfield on Sunday.

First, Springboks center Andre Esterhuizen insulted the South Africans in the Scotland squad, before coach Rassie Erasmus unexpectedly chose a 7-1 forward-back bench and showed interest in seeing how his team could cope with multiple back injuries.

Esterhuizen, who has scored just 18 times against Damian de Allende since 2018, said: “I would rather have played 18 games for the Springboks than 70 for another country where I wasn’t born.”

That was a joke against fellow countrymen who have chosen to play for another country. Scotland has Duhan van der Merwe and Pierre Schoeman, who qualified on residency, and Dylan Richardson and Kyle Steyn, who qualified on heritage.

“I am South African. I love this country and this team,” Esterhuizen emphasized. “I’m very happy with where I am.”

He insisted he is not putting Scotland’s South Africans down, although that will not be discussed in the Scotland dressing room. Esterhuizen added that he understood why some chose to leave the struggling republic to earn a living.

“If… that opportunity came (for me), I don’t know what I would have done,” he admitted. “For them it is a professional decision. You also have to make money with rugby, so there are two different sides to it.”

Scotland has just two professional clubs and spreads the net wide for talent. Captain Sione Tuipulotu and No. 8 Jack Dempsey are Australian, and the latest newcomer, fullback Tom Jordan, is New Zealander.

They will face different attackers in each half after Erasmus opted for the radical 7-1 bench for the first time since the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand a year ago.

The decision comes amid a shorter six-day return to England next week, and keeping his forwards as fresh as possible.

Players such as Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nche are replaced in the second half by Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, RG Snyman and Malcolm Marx.

With scrumhalf Grant Williams the only reserve back, Erasmus suggested he would welcome injuries to the backline to test their depth and versatility.

“Not that we want to curse any player, but we would actually like to see how it plays out if three defenders get injured because we think we are prepared for that,” the coach added. “I don’t think we will play 7-1 again in the last two games (against England and Wales).”

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend noted how the Springboks have complemented their usual physicality with a more dynamic, open game, creating an even bigger threat that the home side have failed to contain for 14 years.

“(South Africa) is the biggest challenge in world rugby at the moment. The two-time world champion is in fantastic form,” said Townsend. “They have been able to play against different teams and show that their depth is so strong that they can still deliver quality performances.”

___

AP rugby: