Gregor Townsend says his Scotland side will have to build on the win against Fiji if they are to stand any chance of beating the Springboks this Saturday.
Scotland come into the match on the back of a comfortable 54-17 victory over Fiji where, after a tough first half, the home side powered through to victory.
Townsend’s charges next meet the Springboks for the first time since the 2015 World Cup, with the Springboks currently on a five-match winning streak over Scotland.
Despite their emphatic win, Townsend is under no illusion that the Springboks will pose a very different threat when the two sides clash at Edinburgh.
‘South Africa are a different team to Fiji,’ Townsend said. ‘They play in the Rugby Championship and are a top-five team in the world.
‘A few months ago, they came close to doing the double over New Zealand, so that shows you their quality. They bring different threats. They bring a traditional South African style, which is strong ball-carriers, huge set piece and an excellent defence, while they have players dotted around the team who can score from anywhere.
‘They’re a quality side and we’ll have to be much better again. We have to rise up to the challenge of taking on one of the best teams in the world, but I believe that this squad can do that.’
Townsend heaped praise on his charges as they kept Fiji scoreless in the second half.
‘I’m obviously delighted,’ Townsend said. ‘Fiji were always going to be a tough opponent and we saw with their tries in the first half that they could score from anywhere.
‘But we stuck to our task, got a grip of the game and kept to what we believed would work against Fiji – which was really pleasing to see.
‘Defensively, we kept them to zero points in the second half. I thought our set piece was excellent too as we scrummed and mauled really well. It’s good that we got that improvement throughout the game.’
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