Given their form and their flair, Gregor Townsend’s swashbuckling Scotland side are heading to the Rugby World Cup in France with no fear and bags of belief.
The confidence within the squad is just as well because – due to the draw being made some three years ago – they have had the misfortune of being placed in a formidable pool along with two of the world’s established heavyweights in Ireland and South Africa.
Ordinarily, such a scenario would leave Scotland supporters resigned to a group-stage exit. Yet this team, ranked fifth in the world, has delivered enough under Townsend, particularly over the past year, to suggest it is ready to peak in France and find a way into the knockout phase.
That will almost certainly require a victory over one of the two powerhouses in the group, but three exhilarating showdowns with hosts France – a home win and two narrow away defeats – this calendar year allied to the fact they led New Zealand by nine points with less than 20 minutes to play last November have helped imbue the Scots with a belief that they can match any team on the planet.
Ireland and South Africa have proven particularly tough nuts for Townsend’s team to crack, but there is a growing feeling that the burgeoning Scots are now equipped to take the scalps of at least one of these big-hitters and give themselves a chance of going deep into the tournament.
“We have to look at it beyond the group stages,” experienced lock Grant Gilchrist told the PA news agency. “If you want to do well at a Rugby World Cup you’re going to have to play the best teams in the world.
“We have two of the best in the world in our group and we have to see that as a positive that we get to go out and really test ourselves against the best teams and prove we can beat them.
“We believe that if we get the best version of ourselves on the pitch at any given time we can beat these big teams.
“We’re going to have to produce the goods in the group stage if we want to progress but if you want to do really well in the tournament, you need to beat big teams.”
Gilchrist is going to his third-consecutive World Cup. In both 2015 and 2019 the Scots went into the tournament with high hopes before suffering quarter-final and group-stage exits respectively.
Gilchrist feels there is genuine evidence this time to support the belief that Scotland really are equipped to consistently deal with the world’s top teams – as well as the smaller ones like pool rivals Tonga and Romania – amid the intensity of a World Cup.
“We’ve shown we can compete with all the top nations but we probably haven’t put together that complete performance yet,” he said.
“That’s where we sit in a really good position because we’ve got real evidence to support our belief that we can beat anyone but we also have an understanding of what it takes and how hard it is to produce on the big stage in the big games.
“If we can do that in France, it’s going to be a great World Cup for this group.”
Gilchrist is one of 14 members of the current squad who were also involved four years ago as Townsend’s team suffered an ignominious group-stage exit in Japan following defeats to Ireland and the host nation.
“It was a long time ago and we’ve come a long way since then but I know the guys who felt the way we did after Japan – I know I will – will be driven to make sure we don’t feel like that again this time,” said Gilchrist.
As well as being fuelled by a desire to right the wrongs of 2019, Scotland, who finished third in the Six Nations this year, are also buoyed by a scintillating back-line that is the envy of most teams on the planet.
Duhan Van Der Merwe, Darcy Graham, Finn Russell, Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu are just some of the rampant backs who can cause panic in even the most-robust defences and whose presence adds to the notion that Scotland are now better placed to deliver than in previous World Cup campaigns.
“It’s hard to compare because I was part of all three squads (2015, 2019 and 2023) and I felt in both 2015 and 2019, we had a squad that was capable of doing well but we just didn’t quite achieve in both,” said Gilchrist.
“In 2015, we were very close. It’s hard to compare one team against the other because I was part of them all and I know how much we believed we were going to do well in Japan.
“But if we’re talking about this squad, we’re in a really good place. We’ve got a bit of work to do but if we can make sure we perform for 80 minutes, we can do something at this World Cup.
“That’s the belief within the group. We know the challenges we face but that excites us and I think we’re in a position to go and face them head on.”
Steward and Van Poortvleit among England changes for Springboks Test
Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet will return for England on Saturday, with Steve Borthwick making four changes against South Africa.
England were unchanged for their narrow defeats against New Zealand and Australia, but the Leicester pair, who were not included in the squad for either of those matches, come straight in to replace George Furbank and Ben Spencer.
Ollie Sleightholme scored his first international tries in the defeat to Australia and is rewarded with a maiden Test start in place of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, while Sam Underhill comes in for Tom Curry, with both players missing due to head injuries.
England have lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018.
"We're excited to challenge ourselves against the world's top-ranked team and back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions," Borthwick said.
"Test matches against South Africa are always thrilling contests, and I'm sure Saturday will be no exception."
Meanwhile, South Africa have made 12 changes to their starting XV from their 32-15 win over Scotland on Sunday.
Captain Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit return in the back row, while Cheslin Kobe is also named in the side.
The world champions have got a more balanced look to their bench this time around though, with coach Rassie Erasmus opting not to name seven forwards among the replacements this time around.
England squad in full:
Freddie Steward, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme, Marcus Smith, Jack van Poortvliet, Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Tom Roebuck.
South Africa squad in full:
Alphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian De Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Maine Libbok, Grant Williams, Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Wilco Loux, Eben Etzebeth, RG Snyman, Siya Kolisi (captain), Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Jasper Wiese.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith, Cobus Reinach, Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am.
Healy in line to equal Ireland cap record versus Argentina
Cian Healy is set to equal Brian O'Driscoll's Ireland cap record when they face New Zealand in Friday's autumn international in Dublin.
The 37-year-old prop has represented his country on 132 occasions and, after being named on the bench, will equal O'Driscoll's mark if introduced versus the Pumas.
Ireland suffered their first home defeat since 2021 last time out, going down by a 23-13 scoreline against New Zealand.
Despite that loss, head coach Andy Farrell has only made one change to Ireland's starting lineup, bringing Robbie Henshaw in at inside centre in place of Bundee Aki.
Argentina also named their team on Wednesday, with vice-captain Pablo Matera, Guido Petti and Matias Moroni replacing Santiago Grondona, Franco Molina and Matias Orlando.
Ireland team: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Peter O'Mahony, Craig Casey, Sam Prendergast, Jamie Osborne.
Argentina team: Juan Cruz Mallia; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Matias Moroni, Bautista Delguy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Bertranou; Thomas Gallo, Julian Montoya, Joel Sclavi; Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo.
Replacements: Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Franco Molina, Santiago Grondona, Gonzalo Garcia, Santiago Carreras, Justo Piccardo.
Pressure to win for England is a 'privilege', says Wigglesworth
Senior England coach Richard Wigglesworth believes that the pressure to win matches is part of the privilege of playing for the national team.
England face world champions South Africa at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday with displeasure growing after four straight defeats.
Included in that run were narrow losses in their first two Autumn Nations Series games against New Zealand and Australia.
Though England have won three of their last four games against South Africa at Allianz Stadium, Wigglesworth insisted everyone within the squad wants to improve.
"This job of being part of the England team is such a privilege, because so many people care, which makes your feeling on the matter really big," Wigglesworth told BBC Sport.
"Our job is to step back from that and see what was right, what was wrong, and what can we fix.
"We need to see the game for what it is, make the decisions for what they are, and get better every week.
"It is our job to make sure the players understand as much as they can that they can’t get affected by that as well.
"We know the attention the team gets is result-dependent, and rightly so."
The last time England and South Africa faced one another was in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in 2023, in which the Springboks came back from 15-6 down to win 16-15.
England will have to be wise to how the visitors have evolved since that game according to Wigglesworth.
"They have a squad and a plan they have done for a while, and when you are successful you tend to stick to things," he said.
"I have really enjoyed watching what they do, and how they do it. It is our job to meet that and rise to it."
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