South Africa have say on Finn Russell and Scotland’s other ‘world class’ duo

There was a relaxed mood in the lobby of South Africa’s team hotel on Saturday as supporters mingled with players ahead of their tour opener in Edinburgh.

The back-to-back World Cup holders are here to win but were happy to sign autographs and chat to fans wandering in off the Royal Mile. Their easy going nature shouldn’t be mistaken for complacency and the Springboks were certainly not playing down the potential dangers they might face against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

“We consider them one of the top nations in world rugby,” said Eben Etzebeth, South Africa’s imposing captain. “We see them as an Ireland or New Zealand or Australia or England. It’s going to be a physical Test match. Murrayfield is an incredible place to play rugby - personally one of my favourites in the world. Scottish people are nice - but we know their team will never be nice to us on the field.”

Eben Etzebeth during the South Africa captain's media conference in Edinburgh. | SNS Group

Etzebeth is a colossal figure for the Boks and, unsurprisingly, thinks the game will be won and lost up front - anything else would be an affront to South African rugby heritage. But he is also acutely aware that if the unthinkable were to happen and they did lose the forwards battle, then the threats posed by the hosts’ backline in general and Finn Russell in particular could be potentially game-changing.

“It demands you to be switched on and be at your best for the day,” said the lock. “They are world class players. Finn on his day can punish any team. I remember very well the impact he had when he played against us for the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town. We have to be at our best to get a good result.”

Much has been made of the strength of South Africa’s replacements bench against Scotland which comprises seven forwards and a solitary back. Double World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi (89 caps) leads the way and he is joined by former world player of the Pieter-Steph du Toit (84 caps), Malcolm Marx (73 caps), Vincent Koch (58 caps) and RG Snyman (37 caps). The received wisdom is that they will come on, re-power the Springboks scrum and ensure they finish the match with a flourish. For Mzwandile Stick, the South Africa assistant coach, it’s not quite as simple as that.

“I don’t think we will wait until the last 10 minutes,” he said ominously. “If we can win the game from the first 20 minutes, I think the team that starts well will probably keep that momentum. We don’t want to wait for the last 20 minutes of the game.”

Stick is also wary of the Scottish attack and in particular Duhan van der Merwe, a former Junior Springbok, and new captain Sione Tuipulotu.

Eben Etzebeth, centre, during a South Africa training session at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh. | SNS Group

“Duhan and Tuipulotu are world-class players,” said Stick. “If you switch off against them they will punish you. They’ve got a coaching staff that is very creative. The last game we played against them was tough. Hopefully we can start well.”

South Africa have been playing a more expansive game since last year’s World Cup triumph and it bore fruit in September when they clinched the Rugby Championship. The addition of attack expert Tony Brown to their coaching team has seen them play with more adventure but Stick has made it clear that their more traditional strengths remain “non-negotiables”.

“It was never a secret that we wanted to evolve and grow and develop how we want to play the game,” said Stick. “That’s exactly what happened after the World Cup. If you look at the coaching staff, we’ve got new personnel and that’s a way of making sure we don’t get too comfortable in how we do things.

“That being said, there are certain things that we can’t negotiate like physicality and the set-piece. We take pride in how we do it and the players understand our DNA.”