Stopping South Africa from becoming the first country to win four World Cups and only the second nation to clinch back-to-back titles could well take some doing, but a Scotland side filled with confidence may give the Springboks an early test.
Haunted by the memories of a 2019 World Cup campaign in Japan that promised so much for Scotland but ended with a pool stage exit, Gregor Townsend and co are determined to make amends in France.
That could prove easier said than done after being placed in Pool B along with South Africa and bogey side Ireland, as well as Tonga and Romania, while the Scots are double-digit underdogs for their Springboks clash in Marseille.
South Africa have lost only three pool stage matches in their history and are expected to have few issues opening their trophy defence with a win. However, if there is one team who revel in the role of the underdog, it's Scotland.
- Scotland +13
- Scotland to score over 19 points
- Kurt-Lee Arendse anytime tryscorer
WATCH IN THE ZONE - JASON ROBINSON
Scots To Ask Questions Of The Boks
South Africa have won 23 of their previous 28 meetings with Scotland, whose last win over the Springboks came in 2010.
Since then, the Boks have been largely comfortable, seeing off the Scots 34-16 the last time they met at a World Cup in 2015.
The three-time World Cup winners enter this latest encounter having won seven of their last eight Tests, most recently destroying New Zealand 35-7.
Blessed with a seemingly unending stream of powerful forwards, South Africa are very good at what they do when it comes to squeezing the energy out of their opponents, although the Springboks have tried to become a little more expansive recently.
Trying to match South Africa’s power will be Scotland’s biggest challenge as they go in search of what would be only their second World Cup win over a tier-one side in the last 32 years.
But Scotland’s stylistically different approach may challenge the Boks’ blitz defence and keep them closer to South Africa than the handicap suggests.
Prone to being blown away in the past, heavy defeats have become less frequent for the Scots, with only three of their last ten losses being by more than 13 points.
With South Africa tending to be slow out of the blocks in a World Cup - they’ve lost two of their last three pool-stage openers and won the other by a point - there’s reason to believe Scotland could run the champions close.
Russell To Stretch Bok Defence
South Africa’s defensive efforts have been the bedrock for their success at past World Cups, and in 2019 the Boks conceded just 67 points.
They’ve allowed a total of just nine tries in their last 13 World Cup matches - Scotland shipped eight in the 2019 pool stage alone.
But this phenomenal South Africa defence hasn’t looked quite as watertight recently, and they missed a high number of tackles in the Rugby Championship. Turnovers were also an issue and Scotland may see more possession than many expect.
Fly-half Finn Russell, who has enjoyed an outstanding run in a Scotland shirt since last autumn, should probe the South Africa defence and recent results suggest he can find a way through.
The Scots have scored three or more tries in 12 of their last 15 Tests and put up at least 20 points in ten of their last 11 outings.
SCOTLAND TO SCORE OVER 19 POINTS
Arendse To Get Off The Mark
This Pool B encounter features four world-class finishers on the wings with Scotland naming Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe out wide, while South Africa have opted for Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe.
There is no room in the matchday 23 for Makazole Mapimpi, hero of the 2019 final, with Arendse preferred and the Bulls wing can take his chance.
The 27-year-old has been in excellent tryscoring form for South Africa over the last two years and his recent effort against New Zealand was his ninth cross-over in his last eight appearances.
KURT-LEE ARENDSE TO SCORE ANYTIME
South Africa vs Scotland Teams
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Bench: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Duane Vermeulen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Willie le Roux
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Bench: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 WP Nel, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 Ali Price, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Ollie
