The Boks and supporters, ready for the big day
Over 35 000 rugby fans will stand up from the zebra-striped seats, under the watchful eyes of the giraffe columns and roar with pride to welcome their beloved Springboks onto the field at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.
For the first time ever, the South African national rugby team will play a Test match in Nelspruit. It is a special occasion for local fans and the support will be up there with the best the Boks have received. They will be obliged to give the Scots a thrashing of note.
The Scots came to South Africa boasting two 2013 RBS Six Nations victories. They slaughtered the Italians 34-10 in Edinburgh and edged Ireland 12-8, at Murrayfield. They finished third on the log and lost by ten points to eventual champions Wales.
Scotland have played the Springboks five times in South Africa. They have never won.
Heyneke Meyer made two changes to the starting line-up for Saturday’s Test match.
Ruan Pienaar replaces the injured Jano Vermaak and Marcell Coetzee come in for the soon-to-be-married Francois Louw.
On the bench Bismarck du Plessis is included in place of Chiliboy Ralepelle, Piet van Zyl in place of promoted Pienaar and Siya Kolisi warms the bench occupied by Coetzee last Saturday.
The key to domination over the Scots will be the set pieces.
The Bok lineouts should ensure that the backs get quality possession. The Boks could just twist the knife and steal a few balls on the Scots throw in.
The South African scrum battled against the Italians last Saturday. If the Bok scrum does not just dominate,but annihilate the Scots, Heyneke Meyer will put a large tick next to a very important column on his laptop screen.
The green and gold backline was hungry for tries against Italy. After a week of intense training and practicing set moves, they will be starving against Scotland. Expect a flurry of tries. The Scots have no doubt concentrated on defence this week, but will face a merciless onslaught from the Bok backs.
It will not be surprising if Jean de Villiers gives the ball to Morne Steyn at the first goalable penalty and asks him to boot it into touch.
The rolling maul will then be a potent weapon.
The Scots are in for a tough afternoon. They will come on to the field with a positive attitude and the belief that they can beat the Boks. Their pride might be their strongest weapon. If the scoreboard can chip away at this and they start hanging their heads, the
Springboks will be in a strong position to execute a record victory. South Africa beat Scotland 68-10 at Murrayfield in 1997.
The ball bounces high on the finer Mbombela grass and Steyn’s high-up-and-unders chased by backline speedsters can pay dividends.
The Pumas tactic of grubbers by the flyhalf or first centre for the wings to chase also work well at Mbombela Stadium as the ball bounces higher and tumbles further than at the spongier pitches of other Test grounds in South Africa.
Kick-off is at 17:15. Tickets are available at the stadium and at Computicket outlets.
Read more on some interesting facts on the two teams and the Springbok and Wales squad.
