'Free swing': Why Scotland win over South Africa would kickstart the national side

Sione Tuipulotu believes a Scotland victory over South Africa at Murrayfield on Sunday would galvanise the national side and give them the belief to realise their full potential.

The Scots have recorded a number of notable results in the Gregor Townsend era, defeating the likes of France, England, Wales and Argentina, but a win over one of the current top three nations has remained elusive. Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand are out in front at the top of the world rankings, with Scotland back in seventh place.

This weekend’s Autumn Nations Series match in Edinburgh is the Springboks’ first game of their European tour and Tuipulotu has described it as a “free swing” at the world champions.

Sione Tuipulotu will lead Scotland against South Africa. | SNS Group / SRU

“I think it’s obvious that we’ve been searching for this win against a top opponent like the All Blacks or the Springboks or Ireland, one of those top three teams, for a long time now,” said the new Scotland captain. “Getting that win instils a little bit of belief in your team and it kickstarts the team that we want to be. We take this as an opportunity tomorrow for this game to kickstart what we want this team to achieve.”

Scotland have not beaten South Africa since 2010 and have lost their last eight games in a row against the Springboks, with the most recent defeat coming at last year’s Rugby World Cup in Marseille. The Scots have never won against New Zealand and last defeated Ireland in the 2017 Six Nations, under Vern Cotter. Tuipulotu, who was appointed captain ahead of the autumn series, is relishing the opportunity to take on the back-to-back World Cup winners.

“It’s a massive opportunity for me and I just want to grab it with two hands,” he said. “I know this is a game that we’ve been searching for for a long time, not just South Africa but we’ve been searching for a big win here at Murrayfield for a long time. Tomorrow is an opportunity for that.”

Sione Tuipulotu believes a Scotland victory over South Africa would galvanise the national side. | SNS Group / SRU

Tuipulotu, who this week signed a new three-year contract with Glasgow Warriors, said it was crucial that Scotland played the team and not the occasion.

“Definitely,” he said. “I think that’s one of our main things, that we have a free swing at the world champions. The most important thing is that we hop off that bus tomorrow and be here to win. The mindset from the group has been really good this week that we are here to do that. A lot of those games against the Springboks are lost before the whistle even gets blown. Our job is to make sure that’s not us tomorrow.”