Scottish Rugby

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has been speaking to the media after naming his team to face South Africa at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Here are the key lines from his press conference:

• The team are excited at the prospect of facing the world champions and know they will have to "play their best rugby to be in the game".

• Townsend believes this match has a "different context" to the last meeting in the opening pool match at last year's Rugby World Cup when the Springboks won 18-3. Both teams have made changes in style since then.

• He did not want to risk Kyle Rowe and potentially worsen his hamstring injury. The Scotland boss expects Rowe to be available for next week's match against Portugal, with Darcy Graham also likely to return after being ruled out of Sunday's match with concussion.

• All the forwards named, those starting and coming off the bench, know they will "have to work really hard for 80 minutes" to counteract the strength of the Springboks replacements.

• Townsend believes regular exposure to South African sides in the URC has boosted Scottish players' belief that they can live with the Springboks.

• He adds: "Our players having experienced more away victories in South Africa certainly gives them more confidence going into this fixture.”

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has been speaking to the media after naming his side to face Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• Erasmus believes "the passion of Murrayfield" will lift the Scotland players, adding: "We haven't experienced big scores against Scotland and we are preparing for a grind and a massive arm wrestle."

• He thinks Scotland "want it loose" and that Gregor Townsend "will never have a boring gameplan" so he won't try and match the hosts.

• It's the first time South Africa have named a 7-1 split on the bench for a while. Erasmus feels the experience and class he has to come on to the field later in the match is vital.

• He describes Scotland winger Duhan van der Merwe "lethal" and says Finn Russell plays like he is "running an orchestra", adding that Scotland are "keeping us guessing with the way they attack".

• He suspected Townsend would play Blair Kinghorn on the wing because he’s the best guy under the high ball. Erasmuss idn't see “the full-back coming" - indicating surprise at Tom Jordan's selection.

• Erasmus acknowledged that if South Africa are "a little bit off our game we are in for a long day" and said "they have a special way of stopping mauls".

We asked for your views on Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu committing his future to Glasgow Warriors with a new contract until 2028.

Here's what some of you said:

Brian: As a Scottish rugby fan this is a great signing and shows the intent of the SRU and the clubs to keep talent within Scotland. It’s clear he and his family want to be here and continue to build on the success with Glasgow, and hopefully, Scotland.

Jamie: Tuipulotu signing a new contract is another signal of where Glasgow are going. His centre partner Huw Jones looked to be off to France and signed an extension too. Franco Smith has signed to summer 2026. They need a bigger stadium to match their ambitions and would be stronger if they didn't need to send players to Edinburgh to make them competitive.

Stuart: Sione has pinned his colours to the flagpole. He sees a future in the home of his gran's birth. Glasgow Warriors would be a little poorer without him. So long as we can keep Smith as head coach others will blossom at Scotstoun too! Sione is a true inspiration to the younger Warriors and Scotland team-mates.

Ben: Massive statement of intent to keep Sione. I think he arguably would have been more of a loss to Glasgow than Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg or Richie Gray were in the years following the Pro 14 win. He is simply a world-class player, and importantly, he shows up in every Glasgow game he plays in. On his way to becoming a Warriors legend!

Paul: Shows some lessons have been learned from 2015. Let's hope that they manage to keep the bulk of this side together and build something. Also heartened that Sione wants to keep winning trophies and thinks Glasgow is the place to do it. Our big players in the past have wanted to move on to succeed.

Sean: That's probably the best signing in Warriors history, fantastic news for all Scottish rugby fans.

Andrew: I'm an Edinburgh fan and am delighted with this. Great for Warriors and Scotland. He leads well and gives 100% every match. An example some at Edinburgh would do well to follow.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

When South Africa centre Andre Esterhuizen said the other day he’d "much rather have 18 caps for the Springboks than 70 caps for a different country that I'm not actually born in" there was a predictable response.

In appearing to have a bit of a go at Scotland's South African-born contingent - Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman, Dylan Richardson, the injured Kyle Steyn, the recently retired WP Nel and plenty of others before them - this was 'shots fired' before Sunday's Test at Murrayfield.

This was Esterhuizen 'lighting the touchpaper' and 'pouring fuel on the fire'. Apart from the fact no Springbok has any need to engage in mind games with Scotland - they're world champions, have won the last eight meetings and 15 of the last 16 - he was only stating his own truth.

And we want players to be truthful, right? The PR stuff is what we could do without. It was a minor jibe from Esterhuizen but social media being social media, it's caused a reaction. How dare he!

There's no need to be so touchy. When it comes to discussions about countries utilising the granny rule or residency guidelines to deepen their pool of players, Scotland always seems to be in the crosshairs.

Nobody talks about Ireland winning their last Grand Slam with three Kiwis and an Australian in their starting line-up. When you're successful, these things don't tend to matter somehow.

That's the focus for Scotland on Sunday. If they beat the Boks it would go down as one of their greatest victories of modern times.

The Boks are the biggest scalp in the game and if it's a scrum penalty won by Schoeman that gives Finn Russell the chance to kick the winning points or a Van der Merwe special in the last minute, the fact they're both South African by birth won't matter a damn.

Esterhuizen would be singing a different tune if he was Van der Merwe or Schoeman or any of the other South Africans who were snubbed or missed by home selectors and went abroad to build a career. South Africa is a rugby player factory. They can't all be Boks.

From Cornell du Preez to Allan Dell, from Oli Kebble to Josh Strauss, we've never detected anything other than appreciation from these South Africans of the opportunity given to them to play for Scotland.

Because Scotland's underage system has been so bad for so long there's been a dependency on various World Rugby rules to grow the player pool. One of David Nucifora's tasks as de facto director of rugby will be to get young Scottish talent flowing a lot more freely.

The dream is for Scotland to wean itself off the dependency. They're focused on it now more than ever. That's commendable.

In the meantime, there's a Test to play and with it a certainty the South Africans in the Scottish team will play as hard as any man who sees a day out of Hawick as a day wasted.

Just because they adopted the jersey instead of being born into it doesn't mean they will be any less fired up for victory on Sunday.

The odds are stacked against them. Scotland have beaten South Africa only five times in 29 games.

It's hard to see it, but if a Van der Merwe proved the difference on the day the irony would be delicious and the noise levels deafening. The chat would be all about where he is now rather than the route that took him here.

The uncertainty surrounding Sione Tuipulotu's future is over, with the Scotland captain committing his future to Glasgow Warriors.

The sought-after centre had been linked with clubs in England and France, but is now staying put at Scotstoun until 2028.

Glasgow fans, is this a real statement of intent from the defending URC champions? Were you expecting Tuipulotu to stay or resigned to his exit?

Let us know your thoughts, external

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Jack Dempsey says the "ultimate test" of facing world champions South Africa is a chance for Scotland to show "how much we've grown" in the 14 months since their previous meeting.

Gregor Townsend's side were comfortably beaten 18-3 by the Springboks in Marseille in the pool stage of the World Cup in September last year.

While the Scots failed to advance to the knockout phase, South Africa became back-to-back world champions and Dempsey is excited for Sunday's Autumn Test at Murrayfield.

"I'm itching for it," said the Australia-born back-rower. "It's the ultimate test.

"They're the back-to-back defending champions, the best in the world. And they deserve to have that crown. They're the ultimate litmus test in terms of being a professional rugby player.

"We're at a point now where we want to see how much we've grown from the World Cup, from when we played them last time. They're the best country for eight years straight.

"We're not under any illusion about what's coming, but we're glad to have them here and glad to play against the best in the world."

Dempsey has won 20 caps and established himself as a fixture in Scotland's back row since switching allegiance from Australia to make his debut for Townsend's team two years ago.

"Yeah, I've loved it," he said. "Two years already, it feels a lot longer. There have been ups and downs like anything, but I've loved every second of it. I said at the time to get that second chance in the Test arena was a dream come true again.

"But to fast-forward two years and the bonds I've created, some of the friends I've made, the experiences while I've been over here have been unreal.

"It's just kind of been a match made in heaven with the style Gregor wants to play, with the history and the kind of identity that Scotland have always kind of had and played with."

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Former South Africa captain Bob Skinstad says Murrayfield is "a difficult place to go" and the Springboks must shut out the noise made by "the 16th man".

The Boks visit the Scottish capital on Sunday and Skinstad believes there will be a showing of their "sky high levels of respect" for the Scots, who will be keen to scare the world champions more than they did in their World Cup meeting last year.

"You take on Scotland at home, as they proved to Fiji and to everyone who has come and played them the last couple of years, it's a difficult place to go," Skinstad said on the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast.

"There is a big, strong contingent of home support who can shout them home like a 16th man at any time.

"The Springboks will recognise that but they will also trust in the fact they are now starting to integrate a few of their players into the URC environment so they will have played against some of these players before."

There are a raft of URC champions filtered throughout Gregor Townsend's side following Glasgow Warriors success last season. A success which hasn't gone unnoticed or underappreciated in South Africa.

"The Warriors have knocked over the all-conquering Bulls of last season at their home patch, I think the respect levels are sky high," he added.

"It's brilliant. The Warriors have done a great job off the field, as have Scottish rugby at melting the budgets of the national union as well as the budgets of the teams that are needed at creating a pool of players in Scotland, with a little bit of creative mix from players outwith Scotland, I think it's fantastic.

"It's a melting pot of talent, quality, experience and youth coming through and I think it will serve Scottish rugby very well for a long, long time."

You can listen and subscribe to the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast here.

After Scotland's record win against Fiji, and with South Africa on the horizon, we put some of your questions to chief sportswriter Tom English.

Rob asked: This might seem like a crazy question given his try-scoring record, but do you think Duhan van der Merwe could be even more effective for both club and country if the way he and the team around him play, was tweaked?

Tom answered: I think Duhan van der Merwe scores the tries he scores because of the way the team plays. I'm not sure you can set up the team any better for him and for Darcy Graham. Finn Russell is also keen to go wide with a pass or with the boot and I'm not sure I have ever seen a better passing 10 than him or, for that matter a 10 who is better at that kick-pass. He's unreal.

You have a midfield partnership who are very skilled at engineering space and then exploiting that space with a high skill-level. The big man gets lots of opportunities. I think he can work harder to get himself involved, but for him, this must be the dream team to play in. So much of the gameplan revolves around trying to get him into space.

Scott asked: What's the story behind how the autumn international fixture lists are arranged? Very much looking forward to Scotland v South Africa, but disappointed it was a ‘light’ summer tour, Portugal in this series line-up, and another year without playing NZ - only one meeting in seven years!

Tom answered: The SRU doesn't get to pick its opponents, but remember, in 2020 Scotland were due to have a summer tour which involved two Tests against the Boks and one against the All Blacks. COVID put paid to that. The new global rugby tournament starts in 2026 so there will be a lot of change when that happens.

Personally, I think these games against Tier Two nations are important for Scotland as they try to grow their Test player base.

Murdo asked: Has Ali Price played his last game for Scotland? The pace of our attack visibly increased when Jamie Dobie replaced him on Saturday and I think we'd have seen the same had George Horne been on the bench. Ben White is still our best 9.

Tom answered: No, he hasn't. Jamie Dobie was excellent when he came on but Ali Price played fine. I would have Ali fourth in the pecking order right now - Ben White, George Horne, Dobie - but he's far from finished at Test level. I think he had such a disappointing season last season he's worked really hard to get himself right for this season. I wouldn't write him off. No chance. Plus, Gregor Townsend really admires him, so he's very far from done.

After Scotland's record win against Fiji, and with South Africa on the horizon, we put some of your questions to chief sportswriter Tom English.

Steve asked: Not much seems to have been made of Adam Hastings' stellar performance against Fiji. Personally, I thought he had an incredible game. Do you see a realistic chance of him being selected in front of Russell, and if not, why not?

Tom answered: He was very good and we praised him on our radio coverage. He was really inventive, kicked well and led Scotland out of that tricky period that they had. It was great to see him back.

Will he be picked ahead of Finn Russell? I would say no chance. Russell is just that bit better at most things. He's playing brilliantly as well. It's a nice problem to have, as they say. You have to play your heaviest hitters against the Boks and Russell comes back in for me.

It'll be interesting to see if Hastings makes the bench. Tom Jordan, also excellent in his time on the pitch, covers 10, the midfield, and 15. He could play wing as well, I'd say. That, to me, should guarantee his place in the 23. As good as he was against Fiji, Adam might miss out in that scenario.

Patrick answered: How essential is a victory over the Boks for Toony, or is this a game where an improvement on previous results against the Boks is enough?

Tom answered: Well, I don't think it would ever be fair to describe Scotland beating South Africa as essential because it happens so rarely and, frankly, South Africa are way better.

It's fair to expect that Scotland fire lots of shots and make a brilliant game of it, which is what they categorically didn't do at the World Cup. The Boks did an absolute number on them. Scotland never got their attacking game out of neutral. The scoreline didn't reflect their superiority on the day.

So, a big, physical performance, some tries, a game that goes close to the wire. I don't think Scotland will win, but they need to give the Boks a scare.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Former South Africa captain Bob Skinstad thinks the Springboks will be wary of Huw Jones at Murrayfield on Sunday, saying the Scotland midfielder is "one of the best centres in the world".

Talking to the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast, Skinstad added: "It's not often that you can say, 'let's pick 12 of the opposition players who can fit into a world champion team'. But I would look across the Scottish guys and say they've certainly got a good run at eight or 10 guys who could turn out for another international team, which is fantastic.

"That means you're in the top five, top six in the world, just by sheer weight of numbers of quality players."

Listen and subscribe to the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast here.

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Despite the blow of losing Darcy Graham, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend softened the blow by revealing Kyle Rowe might be fit for the Springboks clash on Sunday.

And while Blair Kinghorn was unavailable for the win over Fiji, as it fell outside the international test window, he is back and can be selected by Townsend.

"Blair has been a starting full-back for a wee while now, he’s been in great form for Toulouse," the head coach said. "But he’s also played on the wing for us and for Toulouse this year.

"Kyle [Rowe] is still an option. We’ll see how he progresses over the next couple of days. We’ve got Harry Paterson and Arron Reed in our squad.

"Harry has played very well for us in the summer and also in the Six Nations. Arron’s in cracking form, had two games for Sale which were outstanding. We’ve also got Jamie Dobie, who has played on the wing for us in the summer tour and for Glasgow."

Rowe came off before half-time in the 57-17 win over Fiji but his hamstring injury is not as bad as first feared and he could stay in the starting XV.

"He’s not ruled out," Townsend said. "It will now be a case of seeing how he responds to training and how much we feel we can push him because we’ll need some contribution in training this week to go into the game.

"The fact that it’s a day later, an eight-day turnaround, I’m optimistic. But it’ll be over the next couple of days we’ll know that for sure."

Sandy Smith
Fan writer

You may have heard of the TV series, The Rings of Power? Against Fiji, Scotland deployed their wings of power in the shape of Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham.

This pair could easily be Lord of the Rings characters. Darcy is like a hobbit. No, not because he is short of stature but because he's fleet of foot, hard to catch and turns up where you least expect him. Duhan is more like an elf. Mysterious, hard to fathom but also pretty nifty.

On Saturday the wingers both made their contribution to the cause in their own inimitable style. Graham popped up everywhere and bounced off opponents like they were magnets of the same pole. Van der Merwe hugged the left wing and got his reward in the second half thanks to the great work of Adam Hastings and Huw Jones.

As a result, Van der Merwe kept his lead as top scorer in the all-time Scotland try-scoring chart and Darcy's four tries saw him leapfrog Stuart Hogg into second place and close the gap to the top. The pair are also vying for top all-time scorer at Edinburgh albeit Tim Visser's total (69) may just be a step too far for both. Despite the fact that Darcy is behind Duhan at club level (36 v 44) as well as at international level, the Hawick man may eventually overhaul him in both categories.

Whoever does end up top of the tree for Scotland will probably hold that record for a considerable time. The next closest active player on the list is Huw Jones with 19. Darcy has more strings to his bow than his teammate and his work rate alone could be a decisive factor.

It's a side contest that both would deny exists but it's fun to hype it up and more tries hopefully also means wins for both Edinburgh and Scotland.