Lawson: Scotland Requires ‘Perfect Game’ to Defeat South Africa

In 2021, Finn Russell kicked past South Africa captain Siya Kolisi. Former scrum-half Rory Lawson has stated that Scotland must deliver a “10 out of 10” performance to defeat the Springboks. The Scottish team last defeated South Africa at Murrayfield 14 years ago, in a match captained by Lawson. Since that time, the Springboks have secured two World Cup titles. Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, Lawson remarked, “When you welcome a team that’s not only done it once, but has done it a record number of times, you know it’s a challenge.” He further added, “For anybody in any high performance environment, you want to challenge yourself against the best in the world and that’s exactly what Gregor Townsend and his side are going to be doing this weekend.” Rassie Erasmus’ team secured their fifth Rugby Championship title during the summer, and they enter the autumn internationals ranked as the world’s number two side. Lawson emphasized, “Scotland’s defence will have to be very good, under Steve Tandy, you know what’s coming with South Africa albeit they have evolved their game to play a little bit more now. “Scotland have to get their attacking game right. Assuming they all get the other bits right, you have got to be able to score points against South Africa because they score points.” He continued, “I believe that Gregor Townsend, on the whole, will believe that Scotland’s game – if they nail a ten out of ten game – with the way that they plan it, will win the game. I would be surprised if he didn’t have a couple of little tricks up his sleeve.” Scotland’s attacking prowess was notably displayed in their record 57-17 victory against Fiji, achieved even without their primary half-backs, Ben White and Finn Russell. Lawson observed, “We saw a couple of set piece plays last week against Fiji that just shows the creativity. He’ll have unpicked all of the aspects of the Springboks’ game that he believes there’s even a slightest opportunity to have a go at them.” He added, “They can have off days. They can have six out of ten days. There’s part of that that you can create yourselves by asking questions of them that put them under pressure. That’s exactly the way that Townsend will have looked to come into this week.” Beyond hoping for an underperformance from South Africa, Lawson asserted that Scotland must equal the Springboks’ primary strength: physicality. Lawson stated, “Every game, you know you have to be emotionally there. Emotion is such an important thing because it’s directly linked to being physically ready for the challenge. ” He elaborated, “Against South Africa it’s different. You know that within their DNA, it is physicality. They love body on body contact. They typically seek physical dominance.” Lawson concluded, “That is the core of what matters to South African players. It’s what matters to South African people. Physically and mentally and emotionally, you’ve got to be ready for the challenge and know what’s coming.”