Rugby World Cup Pool B: Resurgent Springboks too strong for Scots

Jannie du Plessis spent 10 minutes that reached both sides of the interval in the sin bin for using his arms in a tackle on Gordon Reid during a ruck. Even a man light, however, South Africa still grabbed a second try through Pietersen.

Driving into a maul, the Scots over-committed bodies to stop losing ground, but that simply freed up space for the winger to nip in. With Pollard’s conversion, a 20-3 half-time lead was both healthy and harrowing.

Weakness at scrums and line-outs left Scotland hampering themselves, with Laidlaw kicking a couple of penalties to give them something on the board. Cotter’s crew grabbed a surprise try on the counter early in the second-half when Duncan Weir seized upon a rare Pollard error.

Tommy Seymour eventually crossed and Laidlaw converted to reduce Scottish arrears to 20-13. Pollard swiftly atoned, however, by notching a drop goal to restore a 10-point cushion.

Laidlaw’s late tackle on Habana then saw him off the field for 10 minutes. Three further Pollard penalties, with one from deputising Scotland kicker Weir sandwiched in between, brought the score to 29-16.

Adriaan Strauss’ superb riding of a challenge eventually allowed Habana to go over for a third South African try seven minutes from time. Despite Pollard’s failure to convert again, punters can expect to see a Springboks presence in the quarter-finals on this impressive evidence.

Earlier in the day in Pool B’s other game, Japan profited from a real lack of discipline by Samoa, who had three players sin-binned, to run out 26-5 winners at Stadium:mk.

This means it remains a three-horse race to reach the knockout phase, and South Africa are now in pole position with that straightforward final fixture to come. Scotland should join them, provided they respond by defeating underachievers Samoa.