Boks expect Scots to run the ball at Murrayfield

Springbok lock Franco Mostert says they are braced for an attacking Scotland side who are likely to use the creative talents of flyhalf Finn Russell to play a running style of rugby at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The Boks beat Wales 23-18  in their autumn international series opener in the pouring rain of Cardiff at the weekend after the hosts left the Principality Stadium roof open, ending any chance of anything other than a kicking duel.

But Mostert expects the Scots to show more ambition and creativity with ball in hand, which will test SA in a different way. Gregor Townsend’s Scotland side tried it in their 15-13 win over Australia  on Sunday but were not accurate enough, something the tourists know they will look to improve on.

“We know Finn Russell is a good player, but we don’t look at one player only, we look at the whole team,” Mostert told reporters. “And you could see in the performance at the weekend that they play some running rugby.

“We will have to counter that with our defence, but it will take a team effort to back it up.”

Mostert believes there is plenty of room for improvement for the Boks, despite picking up a first win in Cardiff since 2013.

“We can sharpen up on everything, it was not the perfect game from us,” he said, adding that they should not get sucked into moving away from their forward-based kicking style game if Scotland run the ball.

“We must stick with our game plan and not try to do something different.”

The Boks are likely to be without fullback Damian Willemse, who was concussed early on against Wales and must go through return-to-play protocols. That could see the return of Willie le Roux.

The team are also boosted by the availability of wing Sbu Nkosi, who missed the start of the tour with passport and visa issues.

Reuters