Preview: Scotland vs Springboks
16 Nov 2012
RYAN VREDE, in Edinburgh, analyses the key match ups and picks the winner in Saturday’s Test at Murrayfield.
I’ve written extensively about the importance of the victory over Ireland in Dublin last week from Heyneke Meyer’s perspective and what it would have done for the mental growth of the collective. However, the quality of the performance needs to improve against a determined Scotland side who come into the Test with confidence gained from having beaten the Springboks recently and indeed tested the world champion All Blacks last Sunday.
I think there will be three key areas the Springboks have to master if they are to win: The gainline and breakdown on attack (I’m confident they’ll do so on defence), the lineout and goal-kicking.
Scotland have great belief that their rush defence system will blunt the Springboks’ aerial assault, cutting down the tourist’s primary strike runners’ space and time and consequently creating broken-field opportunities from poor punts. The tourists’ strike runners were poor in the first half at Lansdowne Road but upped the ante after the break which saw a drastic change in the Test’s attacking complexion. They have to be on point, not only for the efficiency of their kicking game, but also the fluency of their ball-in-hand attack, with Scotland exhibiting an appetite for spoiling play at the breakdown. It is therefore imperative that they win the collisions and clean well if they hope to ease their attacking task.
With their attack in what Meyer called the ‘goal zone’ (between the 22m and opposition tryline) unlikely to show marked improvement, they will rely heavily on their lineout mauling as a try-scoring weapon. Territory is key in this regard and if they are able to set up drives close to the aforementioned zone I cannot see Scotland’s pack denying them regularly. Expect them to crumble under the force of the Springboks’ shove or concede penalties, which then heightens the importance of goal kicker Pat Lambie.
The Springbok flyhalf kicked relatively well last week, but with his side’s now chronic struggles to cross the chalk, he will be acutely aware of how critical it is that he contributes with the boot.
The forecast is for heavy rain on Saturday, which will demand a tight approach from both teams. In a war of attrition, the Springboks have an edge but Scotland will be combative for at least three quarters of the match. The vistors’ bench boasts some strong impact players and they could prove to be a determining factor in the result, but they must have a platform on which to build, as I suspect that chasing the game with the Scots galvanised by the prospect of another Springboks scalp and passionate home crowd roused, could be terminal to the Springboks’ cause.
There has been a patent determination about the Springboks this week and their supporters will hope that translates into a clinical performance. Victory is non-negotiable.
VREDE’S CALL: Springboks by 10
Scotland – 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Mike Blair, 8 David Denton, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown (c), 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.
Subs: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 Stuart McInally, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Peter Murchie.
Springboks – 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermuelen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Subs: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 CJ van der Linde, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Morne Steyn, 22 Jaco Taute, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.
272 Comments
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16 Nov 2012, 22:37 pm
@katman-148:
haha
Right now I’d rather listen to Andy Capp.
Can’t believe I just said that.
16 Nov 2012, 22:37 pm
How did the Welsh get the scrum?
And what the fck is this Welsh fool going on about?
16 Nov 2012, 22:40 pm
That was no swinging arm. But this Welsh pillock wants a fookin card for the Samoan. Having a go at Wayne Barnes for being “obstructed” by North. Get this drunkard away from the microphone.
16 Nov 2012, 22:41 pm
What a try.
16 Nov 2012, 22:44 pm
Who would want to be a TMO? But wales are getting outplayed in this game and are hanging on by their fingernails.
16 Nov 2012, 22:45 pm
The cannibals getting away with murder…lol
16 Nov 2012, 22:46 pm
Now he’s apologising for his voice!
You sounded kak last Sat as well, Jonathan.
16 Nov 2012, 22:46 pm
@katman-153: Shut the fark up ,you farking bottom feeding lowlife piece of Afrikaner scum.You pissed off with your boys again for interacting with their black schoolmates.Can’t farking believe that you questioned them about what colour the person was that gave them the cake.You are piece of racist **** that the country can do without.
16 Nov 2012, 22:49 pm
@wnbb-158: Jeesus, you shouldn’t drink and post here. It’s not a good look.
16 Nov 2012, 22:51 pm
@suffer_guy-156:
The cannibals are having dinner.
16 Nov 2012, 22:51 pm
@wnbb-158: And stop talking kak about a story that’s got nothing to do with you. It was clear from the story that we were just trying to figure out whose birthday it was. But in your fcked up mind it was a race thing. What’s wrong with you?
16 Nov 2012, 22:59 pm
Now they’re ripping their heads off.
Another one for the pot, I suppose.
16 Nov 2012, 23:05 pm
The ref is kak… He says mo hands blue…blue gets the ball and scores… No again..l no hands blue.. Samoa turnover…is this ref on skop’s tik?
16 Nov 2012, 23:08 pm
Funny that katman is called a racist…. I always thought katman was coloured…. He always defended the kak quota players… Lol…
16 Nov 2012, 23:08 pm
Poor ref is so unsure of himself at the breakdown. He has no clue what’s really going on.
16 Nov 2012, 23:12 pm
Phew, if Wales lose tonight, they might need a good slice of luck to stay in the 2nd pot of a WC draw. Who would have thought.
16 Nov 2012, 23:12 pm
@suffer_guy-164: Old capo is scraping the barrel. He’s got nothing else. The story he refers to was me trying to find out from my boy whose birthday it was at nursery school. He couldn’t tell me, so I ask whether it was a boy or a girl. A boy, he says. What is his name? Don’t know. Is he in your class? Yes. Is he white or is he black? Pinkish, says my boy. And that was the whole sweet story. Now this capo rubbish is trying to turn this into a story of me having a problem with my boy’s black friends. What a sad little coloured man.
16 Nov 2012, 23:15 pm
@katman-167:
That’s capo for you in a nutshell.
If he had any more brains, he’d be a potplant.
16 Nov 2012, 23:16 pm
@I am a stormer-168: Plus he’s drunk tonight.
16 Nov 2012, 23:17 pm
Lol… Keo het ook een van elke soort…. Maak als fun
16 Nov 2012, 23:18 pm
Go Samoa, what a result it might be!
Gatland is gonna skin alive that Howler of a coach.
16 Nov 2012, 23:18 pm
A loss here puts Wales in the Portugal, Russia, Georgia pot.
16 Nov 2012, 23:19 pm
Capo and skopskiet… Are they the same guy? Both crazy okes…..
16 Nov 2012, 23:19 pm
@katman-169: Capostanio? What’s poor Andy got to do with this? Wales 19- Samoa 21 with 10 to go I hear?
16 Nov 2012, 23:20 pm
TMO decision. Death or slim gillmer of hope for the artists formerly known as Dragons.
16 Nov 2012, 23:21 pm
@out wide-174: Looks like Samoa just scored again.
16 Nov 2012, 23:21 pm
SAMOA, it should be it.
16 Nov 2012, 23:22 pm
Solid try… I like wales… Good team… But lost to argies and now samoa… Shocking 2 weeka
16 Nov 2012, 23:22 pm
The one positive for Wales is that Jonathan Davies should shut the feck up for a while.
16 Nov 2012, 23:23 pm
If samoa had a kicker ……
16 Nov 2012, 23:25 pm
Not sure why you guys are so surprised about Samoa. Both sides on the field tonight were in the Boks group at RWC 2011 and I was at both the Wellington and Auckland Nortrh Shore games where both these sides came close to beating us fairly and squarely. How good would it be if Samoa improve their 15-man game to the level of their 7′s game and take some future RWC?
16 Nov 2012, 23:25 pm
6 Nations Grand Slam champs?
16 Nov 2012, 23:25 pm
@katman-161: Nobody is talking kuk here.You are an Afrikaner racist puss y ,now you are trying to spin another angle on that story.You should be farking ashamed of yourself for turning your kids into farking racist bigots like yourself man.OH,no i see we are all drunk when we point out your racist nature.
16 Nov 2012, 23:26 pm
Wales were just never in this game.
16 Nov 2012, 23:26 pm
Weekend of upsets.? .???? Samoa beat wales….. Argentina beat france….. Fiji beat ireland….. Aussies beat engalnd.. Boks beat scotland
16 Nov 2012, 23:26 pm
@wnbb-183: Ja go sleep it off you drunk fck.
16 Nov 2012, 23:26 pm
Yessssss!!!!!!! Samoa humbles Grand Slammers. Wales are unrecognizable really, they may as well get Grand Slam of defeats in the series.
16 Nov 2012, 23:27 pm
katman and suffer guy suddenly becoming friends are so sweet.
16 Nov 2012, 23:28 pm
This is supposed to be a super fit, well drilled Wales, but a lot of them are looking pretty porky. Ryan Jones is fat, and so is Gethin Jenkins.
16 Nov 2012, 23:29 pm
@katman-186: I don’t drink,but i know that you are an afrikaner racist *** got.
16 Nov 2012, 23:34 pm
Well done Samoa.A great victory over Katman’s Aryan race.There will be lots of rejoice on the islands tonight.
16 Nov 2012, 23:35 pm
Wnbb…all the kak i talk here on keo is to stir a bit… Its funny to see you guys call everyone racist…. I only drink white alc. voda and cane or gin… Does it make he a bigger racist
16 Nov 2012, 23:36 pm
Wnbb whats up with the pasak wyn in cpt. Is it all the strikes etc? Last weekend it was nama and now its u
16 Nov 2012, 23:38 pm
@suffer_guy-192: no,not everyone.only katman because he is one and he knows it.you can mix your drinks anyway you like.
16 Nov 2012, 23:39 pm
@suffer_guy-193: I don’t consume alcohol,but i know a racist peos when it crosses my path.
16 Nov 2012, 23:41 pm
Wnbb whats your thoughts on bafana bafana?
16 Nov 2012, 23:44 pm
@suffer_guy-193:
@wnbb-194:
Two guys from opposite ends of the divide getting on like a house on fire! Well I never.
This truly is the Rainbow Nation.
16 Nov 2012, 23:46 pm
@suffer_guy-196: i don ‘t follow that kuk team,and thank God , living outside SA means i am not tempted to watch them on television.
16 Nov 2012, 23:47 pm
@wnbb-198: forgot the smiley
16 Nov 2012, 23:48 pm
@wnbb-198: Fcking traitor p0es.
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