South Africa secures victory in Pretoria
South Africa emerged victorious over Scotland in a Nations Championship fixture held in Pretoria. The match saw South Africa triumph with a score of 42-28. Scotland demonstrated resilience, twice narrowing deficits of 14 and 21 points against the double world champions.
Despite their efforts, Scotland‘s quest for a first Test win against the Springboks on South African soil continues. A key moment in the match was a missed opportunity for Scotland when South Africa had a forward in the sin bin early in the second half.
Scotland secured a bonus point from tries scored by Matt Fagerson, Kyle Rowe, Josh Bayliss, and Ben White. South Africa‘s physical play and clinical execution were noted by Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu as decisive factors.
Both teams had successful opening rounds in the Nations Championship the previous weekend. Scotland achieved a record-breaking win against Argentina in Cordoba, while South Africa defeated England at Ellis Park.
Team changes and key moments
South Africa made 11 changes to their lineup for the match, while Scotland made three alterations. Finn Russell, Zander Fagerson, and Gregor Brown were promoted to Scotland‘s starting XV. A late change on the Scotland bench saw Max Williamson replace his injured club-mate Alex Samuel.
This match marked Scotland‘s first encounter with the Springboks in Pretoria. Rory Sutherland, the Glasgow Warriors prop, earned his 50th cap when he entered the game from the bench and led both teams out.
South Africa opened the scoring with a try from scrum-half Embrose Papier in the 16th minute, converted by Handre Pollard, making the score 7-0. Shortly after, Evan Roos scored South Africa‘s second try in the 19th minute, also converted by Pollard, extending their lead to 14-0.
Scotland responded with Matt Fagerson scoring his fifth try for his country in the 33rd minute, converted by Russell, bringing the score to 14-7. Just before half-time, Kyle Rowe scored his eighth try for Scotland, and his second in successive weeks, with Russell converting to level the scores at 14-14 by the interval.
Second half action and player performances
At the start of the second half, Josh Bayliss entered the field after Rory Darge failed an HIA. South Africa‘s Ben-Jason Dixon received a yellow card following a TMO review for contact on Scott Cummings‘ head.
South Africa regained the lead in the 57th minute with a try from substitute back-row forward Elrigh Louw, converted by Pollard, making it 21-14. Damian Willemse then scored South Africa‘s fourth try in the 60th minute, with Pollard converting to increase the lead to 28-14.
Replacement prop Zach Porten scored South Africa‘s fifth try in the 66th minute, with Pollard maintaining his perfect kicking record, bringing the score to 35-14. Scotland fought back, with Josh Bayliss scoring his sixth try for Scotland in the 67th minute, converted by Russell, making it 35-21.
Ben White then scored Scotland‘s bonus point try, his tenth for his country, in the 70th minute, with Russell converting to narrow the gap to 35-28. However, Jesse Kriel secured South Africa‘s sixth try in the 77th minute, converted by Quan Horn, sealing the 42-28 victory for South Africa.
Several Scotland players delivered notable performances. Sione Tuipulotu, the captain, provided valuable momentum with ball carries and gained a match-high 72 metres. Finn Russell demonstrated his attacking skills, creating several try-scoring opportunities and converting four tries. Kyle Rowe was effective with ball in hand, gaining 54 metres and scoring a first-half try. Jack Dempsey was effective in attack, gaining 44 metres, and strong in defence with 15 tackle completions. Matt Fagerson scored a try and made 15 hits on defence. Ben White provided slick service and scored a try in the game’s final moments.
South Africa‘s lineup included Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe, Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse, Ethan Hooker, Handre Pollard, Embrose Papier, Boan Venter, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Cobus Wiese, Ruan Nortje, Paul de Villiers, Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), and Evan Roos. Replacements included Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Zach Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Vincent Tshituka, Elrigh Louw, Grant Williams, and Quan Horn. Pollard returned to the action for Hooker in the second half.
Scotland‘s starting lineup included Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Zander Fagerson, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Ben White, Finn Russell, Jamie Dobie, Sione Tuipulotu (captain), Rory Hutchinson, Kyle Steyn, and Kyle Rowe. Replacements included Gregor Hiddleston, Rory Sutherland, Will Hurd, Max Williamson, Magnus Bradbury, Josh Bayliss, Grant Williams, Tom Jordan, and Stafford McDowall.
The full-time score was South Africa 42-28 Scotland.
Source: scottishrugby.org