Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says Scotland plan to unleash a brand of “champagne rugby” at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, warning that the world champions will have to be at their absolute best to push the cork back into the Scottish bottle.
“Each time we analyse them, it is no secret what they want to do,” Stick said. “They have a very skilful backline. Looking at the makeup of their pack, they have big, physical loosies that focus on gaining momentum for that backline.”
Stick’s insight into the Scottish tactical blueprint is deeply personal. Back in his playing days, the former playmaker lined up at fullback for the Sharks during the same season that current Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend pulled on the number ten jersey in Durban.
“They are a major danger, and I know this well because Gregor Townsend was my fly-half,” Stick revealed. “He was one of my teammates in Durban. He enjoys beautiful, champagne rugby. They call it ‘the dance floor’. They like to go to the dance floor by moving the ball into the wider channels, and they have the skilful players to do it.
“Finn Russell is back, and Sione Tuipulotu is one of the best centres in the world,” Stick added. “The danger is also in their back three — Kyle Steyn is South African-born and knows us very well, and Kyle Rowe is a lethal attacker because of his Sevens background. Scotland will try to keep the ball in play and run us off our feet out wide.”
Confronting the Scottish threat is a heavily revised Springbok matchday 23 that features ten changes to the starting line-up that down England last weekend. However, Stick vehemently rejects any suggestions that the selection represents a gamble.
“These players have performed exceptionally well for their domestic franchises, and they deserve to be rewarded,” he insisted. “These youngsters have been working extremely hard in our camps since June. We believe in these guys. Gone are the days when any Springbok squad can be called a ‘B-team’.”
The Scots arrived in Pretoria high on confidence following a comprehensive victory over Argentina in Cordoba last week, capitalising on the momentum of a highly successful Six Nations campaign. When asked to compare the challenge to the one posed by England, Stick did not hold back.
“I think they will be a better team, in the sense of where they are currently,” he said. “They‘ve just beaten Argentina in Argentina, and that’s a massive ask. The majority of those players have been playing together as a cohesive unit for a very long time.”
Stick added that recent encounters between the cross-hemisphere rivals have been far tighter than the record books suggest.
“In the matches we’ve played against them before, the first 60 minutes were always incredibly tight. Sometimes, if you look at the full-time score, it looks like it was an easy outing for us. No, we had to work incredibly hard to get over the line against them. I think they will be a better and tougher side than England — a significantly bigger challenge.”
Teams for Saturday
Springboks – 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (c), 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zach Porthen, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Elrigh Louw, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Quan Horn.
Scotland – 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Magnus Bradbury, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Stafford McDowall.
