Overview
- South Africa beat Scotland 42-28 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday after Jesse Kriel finished a 78th-minute breakaway to seal the result and Handré Pollard converted five of the hosts’ six tries.
- Erasmus made sweeping changes to blood depth players, forced a late switch when Canan Moodie withdrew and started Ethan Hooker, and this match was his record 55th Test in charge.
- The game swung wildly: South Africa led 14-0, Scotland recovered to 14-14 at half-time, the Boks then ran in three second-half tries to lead 35-14 before Scotland reduced the margin to 35-28 late on.
- Discipline and defence were recurring issues as replacement Ben-Jason Dixon was yellow-carded early in the second half for dangerous head contact and South Africa missed dozens of tackles that allowed repeated Scottish pressure.
- The win leaves the Springboks 2-0 and top of the southern-hemisphere Nations Championship standings, sets up a trip to face Wales in Durban next week, and advances Erasmus’s goal of building squad depth ahead of major tournaments.