The world champions are in Edinburgh as they begin their European tour against a confident Scottish side
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World champions South Africa return to action as they begin their Autumn Nations Series with a tasty clash with Scotland.
Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks added a rare Rugby Championship crown to their considerable collection of achievements in September and now set their sights on a side they suffocated and shut down at last year’s World Cup. Erasmus has rotated heavily from the team that started against Argentina in South Africa’s last outing, with seven forwards primed on a bench of behemoths that is sure to test the hosts’ staying power.
But Scotland will arrive at Murrayfield full of confidence after an encouraging performance from some of their key figures and fringe faces against Fiji last weekend. There was deep disappointment that they failed to show more of their attacking array in the pool-stage meeting in Marseille last September, and Gregor Townsend has weapons at his disposal capable of challenging their visitors.
Follow all of the action from Murrayfield in our live blog below:
Scotland vs Springboks LIVE
Scotland are boosted by the availability of all of their non-domestic based stars today, but are without last week’s star man: four-try Darcy Graham suffered a head injury in the win over Fiji and has been ruled out.
Kyle Rowe’s hamstring injury is not as bad as first feared.
This is the final game of the first full weekend of Autumn Nations Series action, but the rugby is far from over, with a hectic schedule continuing throughout November. He’s everything you need to know:
Everything you need to know about the busy programme of men’s international rugby
Sione Tuipulotu admitted his Scotland captaincy could hardly have started in more emphatic fashion after his team raced into an early 26-0 lead on their way to a 57-17 victory over Fiji in their first autumn Test.
The Glasgow centre was appointed skipper by Gregor Townsend last month and was thrilled that his tenure began so smoothly, with four tries in the opening quarter of the match.
“We jumped out fast,” said Tuipulotu. “It went probably better than I thought it was going to go, to be honest. That first 20 minutes, I thought we were going to be in a real arm-wrestle, but the boys really fronted up.”
The Glasgow centre was appointed skipper by Gregor Townsend last month.
A very good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s LIVE coverage of Scotland vs South Africa as this action-packed Autumn Nations Series continues. The Springboks kick off their November Tests with a trip to Murrayfield and a meeting with a Scottish side that impressed against Fiji last weekend.
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