Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu says taking on the Springboks in South Africa is “the biggest challenge in world rugby”.
The Scots head to Pretoria full of confidence after opening their campaign with a 47-38 victory over Argentina in Córdoba, but Tuipulotu believes facing the back-to-back world champions at Loftus Versfeld will require another level of performance.
“To be honest, I didn’t see their game against England,” Tuipulotu said.
“Listen, we know the challenge goes up a few gears. Playing South Africa on their own patch is pretty much the biggest challenge in world rugby right now.
“They are back-to-back world champions. It’s a unique challenge but one we are really excited for.”
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While pleased with Scotland’s seven-try display in Córdoba, Tuipulotu admitted there were warning signs after his side conceded two late tries.
“We are really pleased to get our Nations Championship off to a great start, but next week will be a different animal.
“I think those final five minutes when we lost a couple of tries will probably narrow the focus for next week – 100%.
“We let in two tries which were probably avoidable in those last few minutes. That’s definitely something we will look at for next week.”
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Tuipulotu was also satisfied with the way Scotland managed the swings in momentum against Argentina, something he expects to be even more important against the Springboks.
“We knew momentum shifts were going to play a huge part in the game. I spoke to the group before the game about it.
“If we thought we were just going to come out here and have it all our own way, with one-way traffic for the whole 80 minutes, it was never going to happen.
“We handled those momentum shifts really well in the game. We knew that Argentina were going to come at us at some points in the game, but overall we coped well with it.
“It’s not an easy thing to do away from home, but I thought we answered that pretty well if I’m honest.”
Photo: Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images
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