Scotland fired up for 'big-ticket' Bok duel

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Lock Scott Cummings says Scotland facing the Springboks at Murrayfield on Sunday is motivation enough, dismissing any notion of revenge for their 2023 World Cup defeat.

The Glasgow Warriors forward, who recently squared up against several world champion Boks in Vodacom URC action against the Sharks, including two-time World Cup winner Eben Etzebeth, acknowledges the step up in intensity that Test rugby demands.

“Obviously we’ve played some of them, but they’re playing in different teams, different systems,” Cummings was quoted by The Scotsman. “You can pick up some things they try and do, but it’s a different set-up with South Africa. It’s a step up, so we’ll be expecting a tough challenge.”

The memories of Scotland’s 18-3 World Cup pool opener loss to South Africa in Marseille remain fresh, where they trailed just 6-3 at half time before the eventual winners pulled away.

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“Playing international rugby, you’re going to come up against great players and South Africa are obviously some of the best just now,” said Cummings. “They’ve been back-to-back world champions and they are that big ticket-match.

“They’re going to bring their gameplan and it’s up to us to stop that and impose our gameplan.”

Following their convincing 57-17 victory over Fiji, Cummings believes Scotland are well-positioned for Sunday’s clash.

“I wouldn’t say we use that [World Cup loss] as motivation. I think playing the world champs is all the motivation you need,” he explained. “A lot changes in a year. There’s different players in, different people in different set-ups.

“They’ve changed quite a lot of their players and we’ll be going in there with some confidence next weekend. It’s at Murrayfield, which is exciting for us and we can’t wait for the weekend.”

Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images

The post Scotland fired up for 'big-ticket' Bok duel appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.