‘Scotland are a well-coached side – they are good on attack and they are good on defence, so I think we will need to be expecting anything to be ready for that’ – Deon Davids.
CAPE TOWN – The fact that Scotland beat Australia at the weekend will surely add some spice to their Test against the Springboks at Murrayfield on Saturday.
South Africa secured a historic win against Wales in Cardiff this past weekend, defeating the hosts 23-18 and celebrating in the Welsh capital for the first time since 2013.
Scotland, then, bagged a controversial 15-13 win over the Australians – who beat the Boks twice in the Rugby Championship – ending their winning streak.
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Addressing the media yesterday, Bok assistant coach Deon Davids says they should be ready for anything when they face Scotland in their second end-of-year-tour clash.
“If you look at Scotland’s performance, they put up a very good scrummaging performance. We know the capabilities of Pieter de Villiers, he is a very good coach and you can see it in what they achieve at the scrums,” Davids said.
💪 Boks wary of threat posed by the Scotland pack
🗣️ “We know the scrums and lineouts will be tough”
🔗 More here: https://t.co/swX20da9K9#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever pic.twitter.com/5NcyuwoJU0— Springboks (@Springboks) November 8, 2021
“In saying that, I need to commend Daan (Human) for the work he has put in with our guys. We are going to need to be prepared for this weekend.
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“Part of their style of play is to keep ball in hand and to use the width of the field, and I think having been successful this past weekend, that is probably the scenario we will face this weekend and something we will have to be ready for. We need to prepare for that and we will make sure that we will be ready.
“Scotland are a well-coached side – they are good on attack and they are good on defence, so I think we will need to be expecting anything to be ready for that.”
First field session in Edinburgh ✅#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever pic.twitter.com/3qwBVuMSWq
— Springboks (@Springboks) November 8, 2021
Meanwhile, Davids confirmed that Damian Willemse sustained a concussion early on against Wales, while adding that Sbu Nkosi, who was unavailable for selection at the weekend due to passport and visa issues which have since been resolved, has rejoined the Bok squad.
Willemse went off in the first quarter for a head injury assessment and was replaced by Frans Steyn, who was one of the standout performers for the Boks.
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Davids also said that other than the concussion to Willemse, the rest of the group have a clean bill of health.
“At this stage Damian Willemse – he came off the field with a concussion – may be in doubt for this weekend as he has to go through the seven-day protocol. Other than him, everybody is fine and ready for training today,” Davids said.
“Part of the plan coming into this tour was looking at giving guys an opportunity to gain experience … and it was Damian’s chance. Unfortunately, it did not work out for him as he got injured, but we know he is a talented guy and hopefully things will work out for him going forward.
“Sbu joined us yesterday, so he is part of the squad. He is going to train from today on. We are going to look at the squad and make some decisions around that (whether he will feature against Scotland).”
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