Preview: Scotland v South Africa

EDINBURGH , SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 09: Finn Russell during a Scotland training session at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, on November 09, 2024, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

What they said

Head Coach Gregor Townsend said: “It’s one that you’ll be able to sense on the day of the game as players, we’re seeing that already from them during training and it’s a challenge that we have to rise to.

“We expect to be in an open game, and one that will test us every minute and it’s one that we have to be at our very best to go up against.”

The recent results

Scotland last faced South Africa during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with the Springboks coming out 18-3 winners.

The last time South Africa visit Scottish Gas Murrayfield was in 2022, where the visitors won 30-15 in Edinburgh.

The teams

The stats

• Scotland are looking for a first win over a reigning world champion since 2010, when they were 21-17 winners against the Springboks at Murrayfield.
• Duhan van der Merwe’s try last weekend against Fiji got him back to the outright in Scotland men’s top try scorer charts after Darcy Graham had briefly drawn level; Huw Jones’ two tries saw him rise to eighth. Graham and van der Merwe beat seven defenders each last weekend, the most of any player in round one of the Autumn Nations Series.
• Jones made five line breaks against Fiji, the tied most of any tier 1 men’s nation in a test match this decade; Jones himself made five against Italy in the 2021 Six Nations (also Bundee Aki in 2023).