South Africa vs Scotland Predictions - Scotland to get close in massive Pool B clash

My best bet is for Scotland to get within 11 points of South Africa.

South Africa have won their last seven matches against Scotland. The last time Scotland managed a win was way back in 2010.

When they met in 2021 at Murrayfield, South Africa proved too strong on the day, winning 30-15.

South Africa have been inconsistent since their 2019 Rugby World Cup victory but have shown enough to know that they can defend their title. First of all, they will however need to get out of the group which features two other top five sides.

Scotland is first on the cards for the Springboks. The Rugby Championship didn’t go according to plan a few months ago. South Africa finished second to New Zealand, but the Boks also struggled to overcome Argentina at home.

That said, South Africa produced a sublime performance in their final warm-up game, beating the All Blacks 35-7 at Twickenham. They also thrashed Wales and beat Argentina in other warm-up games.

South Africa will name their side later this week, but it would seem, for now, like they have a fully fit squad.

Scotland have been better than good over the last few years. They finished the 2023 Six Nations in third place behind only France and Ireland.

The Scots are unfortunately in a very tough pool with South Africa and Ireland but will fancy their chances as much as the other two. In the recent warm-up games, Scotland beat Italy and France before losing away to the latter the following week.

While their win over France was against a second-string French outfit, they only lost by three points against France away. The hosts were then at full strength.

In their final warm-up game, Scotland beat Georgia 33-6. They were 6-0 down at the break but a superb second-half showing saw them win comfortably.

The challenge for the Scots will be finding parity at set piece against the Springboks. If they manage that and hold their own at the breakdown, they have a very good shot at winning this.

Scotland, like the Springboks, will announce their side later this week. Gregor Townsend will undoubtedly produce his strongest side.