Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu insists his side won’t be fazed by the aura of facing South Africa — and has targeted a statement win against the world champions at Murrayfield this afternoon.
Tuipulotu believes Scotland can show they are capable of taking their game to the next level by beating a Springboks side who arrive in Edinburgh as red-hot favourites.
Gregor Townsend’s men have enjoyed some big wins against the likes of England, France, Wales and Australia over recent years. But they have been unable to defeat big guns like South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland, despite coming close on a few occasions.
Tuipulotu, who will captain the side at centre, believes this Scotland team are now ready to get over the line and land a knockout blow against one of the game’s true heavyweights.
‘I think that’s one of our main things, that we have a free swing at the world champions,’ said the 27-year-old, who signed a lucrative new three-year deal with Glasgow Warriors last week.
‘The most important thing is that we hop off that bus before the game and be there to win. The mindset from the group has been really good this week that we are here to do that. A lot of those games against the Boks are lost before the whistle even gets blown. Our job is to make sure that’s not us.
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‘When I was growing up in Australia and you watch the tri-nations — what now is the Rugby Championship — obviously the Boks have such an aura around them.
‘It’s kind of weird now that I’m in a position where I’m going to captain a side against them. It’s a massive opportunity for me and I just want to grab it with two hands.
‘We’ve been searching for a big win here at Murrayfield, against a top opponent like the All Blacks or the Springboks or Ireland, for a long time. This is an opportunity for that.
‘Getting that win instils a little bit of belief in your team and it kickstarts the team that we want to be. We take this game as an opportunity to kickstart what we want this team to achieve.’
When the teams met in the World Cup last year, Scotland barely fired a shot as South Africa cruised to a 18-3 victory in Marseille.
Tuipulotu is confident this match will bear no resemblance to that poor showing, which saw the Boks’ blitz completely smother Scotland’s attack.
Scotland suffered a bruising defeat at the hands of the merciless Boks at last year’s World Cup
‘I won’t say too much about tactics but I think this game and the World Cup game are going to be completely different,’ he said.
‘It’s a one-off. A lot of the players playing tomorrow for the Springboks didn’t play in that World Cup game. We’ve got some new faces on our team as well.
‘I’m not taking too much from that game. It’s good experience to know that you’ve played the Springboks in recent memory.
‘We’ve got maybe a little bit of a different approach for this game and the job is to execute the game plan.
‘I think we also need to know that the game’s not going to be like the one against Fiji last week. It’s going to be a very different game to that.
‘I suppose we’ve got to be open as a backline to doing the dirty stuff because it’s going to be what’s needed to beat a good team like South Africa.
Elrigh Louw and Rassie Erasmus face the press ahead of the Murrayfield encounter
‘The challenge is trying to get the ball to our back three but it’s not our only out in this game. We’re going to have to roll up our sleeves and try to do a lot of the dirty work around the field as well.
‘I’m expecting the very best from the Springbok side. I do think our crowd will play a part though and that’s something I’m really looking forward to — them getting behind us and us trying to get this win that we’ve been searching for for a long time.’
Despite having offers and interest from various clubs in England and France, Tuipulotu committed his future to Glasgow last week by signing a new three-year deal.
He also revealed that he snubbed big-money offers from elsewhere to stay at Scotstoun and now wants to win more silverware after last season’s triumph in the URC.
Asked if he had spoken to other clubs, he said: ‘Yeah, definitely. I think every rugby player would (do that).
‘I was pretty open and honest with Glasgow that I would be exploring my opportunities elsewhere because I think that’s just the right thing to do as a player.
Tuipulotu (centre) admits he considered his future but was thrilled to commit to Glasgow
‘When it came down to it, I had maybe a few offers somewhere else and the Glasgow offer, and the Glasgow one just made sense to me.
‘I’m just happy where I am at Glasgow and, to be honest, (if it was about) moving somewhere else to chase silverware, I have a pretty good shot of chasing silverware at Glasgow, so why move?
‘My heart’s really in it at Glasgow and I think that just correlates to how I want to play.
‘I suppose there’s always the temptation to try to go somewhere else — you never know how long you’re going to play rugby. But I had already moved from Melbourne to Japan and Japan to Glasgow and it was kind of a sense of also I’m happy where I am.
‘I’m pretty pleased about staying here at home and I’m relieved.’
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