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Scotland confident they have Boks’ ticket

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Scotland flyhalf Finn Russell. Picture: David Davies, PA Wire.

Scotland flyhalf Finn Russell believes he knows what it will take to beat the Springboks.

AFTER beating Australia 15-13 last weekend, Scotland are high on confidence that they can down world champions South Africa at Murrayfield tomorrow at 3pm.

Flyhalf Finn Russell believes he has seen enough of coach Jacques Nienaber’s men on the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa earlier this year to know what it takes to beat the Boks.

And he believes the key lies in Scotland’s attacking game.

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Russell says: “We’ll be looking to play some fast, expansive rugby, obviously weather-dependent.

“We showed in that third [Lions] Test that when you play with speed and accuracy, you can put them under a lot of pressure.

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“Teams in the Rugby Championship also showed that there are ways to break them down and turn their strengths into weaknesses. We have picked up a few things about how we can attack them and defend against them.

“I am just looking forward to testing myself against the best team in the world. That’s why you play sport.”

He adds: “We’re going to have to be at our best again and carry that same belief [from the Australia match] because it might be another narrow game.

Elton Jantjies. Picture: Aled Llywelyn, Huw Evans, Shutterstock, BackpagePix

“Australia managed to beat South Africa twice in the summer and we’ve managed to find a way to beat Australia so why can’t we do the same again this weekend? It’s a great challenge for us but we’ve got the belief we can do it.”

Russell’s direct opponent tomorrow, Elton Jantjies, doesn’t think Scotland’s plans for the match will be that simple.

He says: “Let’s see on Saturday what Scotland are going to do. We will see in the first 10 or 15 minutes and we will have solutions for whatever they deliver.

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“But we saw what Finn is capable of in that last Test against the Lions – he challenged us in different ways, so we have experience of him and we have plans to stop what he is likely to throw at us.”

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