No disappointment for 'proud' Scotland coach Townsend

By Sports Desk November 10, 2024

Gregor Townsend was immensely proud of his Scotland side after they pushed world champions South Africa close in a thrilling Test.

Scotland ultimately went down 15-32 on Sunday, though the 17-point margin of victory flattered South Africa at Murrayfield.

The Springboks were fortunate that Scotland failed to capitalise on a period of intense pressure during the second half, in which the hosts created plenty of opportunities.

To make Scotland's task harder, they had to play 20 minutes of the second half with 14 players after Scott Cummings was given a yellow card that was upgraded to a 20-minute red.

Makazole Mapimpi scored two first-half tries for South Africa, with Thomas du Toit and Jasper Wiese also going over. Scotland did not score a try, with Finn Russell kicking all of their points.

 

"There is not that much disappointment, to be honest," Scotland coach Townsend reflected.

"I'm proud. It was one of our best performances in the last two or three years, built on effort and physicality.

"We put ourselves in positions to score points. It was frustrating not to get that try before half-time, but we put in a huge effort.

"We needed to be ahead of the scoreboard in the final ten minutes, and that’s on us to make sure we are able to nail the skill and execute.

"I thought our defence was outstanding today in holding out South Africa a few times. We were getting penalties and pressure – I thought there could have potentially been another yellow card. But there are ways we have to be better, like executing that final pass under pressure."

Elsewhere, Wales suffered a 10th straight Test loss, equalling their worst ever run, as they went down 19-24 to Fiji in Cardiff.

Caleb Muntz scored 19 points for Fiji, who overcame a 20-minute red card for Semi Radradra, and the pressure is mounting on Wales coach Warren Gatland ahead of meetings with Australia and South Africa.

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    The world champions were pushed all the way by Scotland in their narrow victory at Murrayfield on Sunday, though head coach Rassie Erasmus opted to rotate some key starting positions. 

    South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit started on the bench, with the changes a common theme during Erasmus' seven-year tenure. 

    Their opening Autumn Nations Series victory also put them back on top of the world rankings after Ireland's first defeat in 19 home games by New Zealand on Friday.

    "One of the good things is that everyone is getting game time now," Esterhuizen told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

    "It is also about looking forward, you've got to be able to spare all the guys for the next World Cup and build experience into it.

    "The aim is to have the two best teams in the world, all in one squad.

    "We want to make it second nature for people slotting in, so if someone steps in, they can just slot in and play the same if not better than the other player."

    South Africa next face England, who are yet to pick up a win this autumn, at Twickenham on Saturday.

    Steve Borthwick's side suffered a narrow two-point defeat by New Zealand, before conceding an injury-time winning try to Australia on Saturday.

    England have now lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018, but Esterhuizen's former Harlequins team-mate Marcus Smith has been impressive for the Red Roses. 

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    "It's going to be a great match, England have played well in the last few games, it's unfortunate that it hasn't been the results that they want. I think it's going to be a big one."

    The Springboks have won three of their last four matches against England (L1), including each of their last two. Three of the last five games between England and South Africa have been decided by single-point margins.

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    The Scots face Croatia at Hampden Park on Friday before taking on Poland in Warsaw three days later in the hope of picking up points in their bid for League A survival. 

    This will be Armstrong's first appearance for his country since Euro 2024. He played for just 14 minutes in Scotland's loss to Hungary in their final group game of the tournament.

    The 32-year-old's inclusion comes after the New York Red Bulls' Lewis Morgan and Torino's Che Adams pulled out, though Clarke confirmed he was happy with his forward options. 

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    Scotland sit bottom of Group A1 after picking up one point from their first four games, which came in their last Nations League encounter with Portugal. 

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    The loss also saw Ireland tumble from atop the world rankings to third as the All Blacks repeated their World Cup quarter-final success from last year, and also marked New Zealand's first win on Irish soil since 2016. 

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    Ireland's display was littered with errors against the All Blacks, which included 21 handling mistakes, 30 missed tackles and 13 penalties conceded at the Aviva Stadium. 

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