The Springboks exerted massive pressure on Scotland’s scrums and lineouts, putting their opponents on the back foot and forcing mistakes in their Rugby World Cup Pool B opener in Marseille on Sunday.
Looking at the stats from the Boks’ 18-3 victory over Scotland, in which Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse scored the only tries of the match, it was clear that the performance of South Africa’s pack paid dividends.
Scotland lost a number of scrums and lineouts during the match for a set piece rate of just over 70%. The Boks finished the match having won close to 90% of their scrums and lineouts, but they will be the first to admit there were a couple of errors that needs work, such as a few scrum penalties conceded and a skew lineout throw.
With the Boks dominating possession with 54% of the ball, Scotland were also forced to make 160 tackles, 38 more than the Boks’ 122.
SOURCED FROM THE RUGBY WEBSITE.
