Gregor Townsend believes his Scotland side can deliver their “best game” in their opening Rugby World Cup match against South Africa and emerge from the “toughest” group in France to reach the knockout stages.
Scotland will also face the world’s top-ranked team, Ireland, in their final Pool B match, with games against Tonga and Romania following their match against the defending champions.
Scotland have never beaten a higher‑ranked team at the previous nine World Cup tournaments and their last win against South Africa was in 2010, having lost 18 of 20 – including twice under Townsend – since the Springboks were readmitted to Test rugby in 1992.
Their recent record against Ireland hardly bodes well either with defeats in all eight contests since Townsend took charge in 2017, including a dismal humbling in their opening match at the 2019 World Cup in Japan, where they exited at the pool stage for only the second time.
However, buoyed by wins this year against England at Twickenham and France at home this month, and pushing the tournament hosts to the wire in Saint-Étienne last Saturday, optimism is coursing through the Scotland ranks as they prepare for the Springboks in Marseille on 10 September.
“It’s the toughest group I’d imagine,” Townsend said after finalising a 33-man squad featuring 14 players from both Glasgow and Edinburgh, plus four exiles playing in England and France, and the unattached Rory Sutherland. “We’ll have to throw everything at the South Africa game regardless of the two-week break afterwards.
Forwards: Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh), Dave Cherry (Edinburgh), George Turner (Glasgow), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Richie Gray (Glasgow), Scott Cummings (Glasgow), Sam Skinner (Edinburgh), Luke Crosbie (Edinburgh), Rory Darge (Glasgow), Jack Dempsey (Glasgow), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow), Jamie Ritchie (captain, Edinburgh), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh), Rory Sutherland (unattached), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow), Javan Sebastian (Edinburgh), Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow), WP Nel (Edinburgh).
Backs: Finn Russell (Bath), Ben Healy (Edinburgh), Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh), Ollie Smith (Glasgow), Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), Kyle Steyn (Glasgow), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow), Huw Jones (Glasgow), Chris Harris (Gloucester), Cameron Redpath (Bath), Ben White (Toulon), George Horne (Glasgow), Ali Price (Glasgow)
“All we’ve been focused on is being at our best for the start of the tournament – or as close to our best as we can get. I know that’s idealistic. In your first game at a World Cup, you’re not going to deliver your very best game but we’re working hard to do that. We believe when we get our game right, we can be a match for any of the top three or four teams in the world.”
Townsend cited their performance against New Zealand last autumn – recovering from an early 14-0 deficit to lead 23-14 before succumbing 23-31 – and a stirring Six Nations comeback from 19-0 down in Paris, which ultimately came up short, as further evidence they can mix it with the elite.
“There’s still improvement and progress to go to turn those winning positions into actual wins, but we believe in this group and with the rugby that we play, we can do that from 10 September onwards,” he said, insisting he will “go strong” in selection for Scotland’s final warm-up Test against Georgia on 26 August despite the threat of injury befalling his frontline operators.
The captain, Jamie Ritchie, was equally effusive about Scotland’s prospects despite the daunting nature of their pool. “I am confident we are going to have a really good World Cup,” he said. “Everyone is in a really good place. We are more prepared.
“I’m fully confident that any opposition we come up against we can beat, but more likely than not it will be in our control whether we do or not. We know it’s a tough group but we’re really excited about the challenge and there’s no better time to take on those two teams than right at the start.”
