South Africa vs. Scotland: Preview, Live Stream and TV for Rugby World Cup Game

Rugby World Cup 2015's Pool B will virtually be decided on Saturday as South Africa take on Scotland at St James’ Park, England.

The Springboks once again come into a match on uncertain terms as the convincing 46-6 win last weekend against Samoa came at a heavy price. Captain Jean de Villiers fractured his jaw in the match against the physical opponents, and after being ruled out of the rest of the tournament, he decided to retire from international rugby.

De Villiers’ tally of 37 matches as captain of South Africa is only bettered by John Smit’s mammoth 83.

Luckily, South Africa have enormous experience to call upon: Although he is injured for this match, Victor Matfield has 125 caps and Bryan Habana 112, but the Springboks now have a serious lack of experience in midfield. Handre Pollard leads the way with 15 appearances, while neither Damian de Allende nor Jesse Kriel have double figures.

Scotland, meanwhile, rested nine players against the USA on Sunday from their first-round match against Japan, but they lost lock Grant Gilchrist for the tournament. Despite trailing by seven points at the break, they ran out comfortable 39-16 winners.

Tom English of the BBC had this assessment of the Scots: "As a team they are in a tantalising place; possibly good enough to take South Africa to the wire if they produce their very best stuff but vulnerable enough to get stuffed down a hole that they won't crawl out of should they reproduce the weaknesses of the first half at Elland Road."

Meanwhile, Jeremy Guscott wrote for the BBC that he fancied the Scots to cause an upset against South Africa: "Japan's fitness was better than the Boks' and Scotland's fitness looks very good. If Scotland limit their unforced errors and keep the game high tempo I don't believe the Boks can live with their pace at the moment."

Per the Independent, Duncan Weir replaces the injured Finn Russell at fly-half and prop Willem Nel will face the land of his birth after recently qualifying for Scotland.

An interesting side story is that the inclusion of Nel and Josh Strauss has implications for the Springbok lineout and their ability to call in Afrikaans.

Match Details

Date: Saturday, October 3

Time: 4:45 p.m. BST/11:45 a.m. ET

Venue: St James’ Park, Newcastle, England

TV Info: UK, ITV1; Australia, Fox Sports; NZ, SkySport; South Africa, SuperSports

Live Stream: ITV Player (UK only)

Last five games

On the basis of their last five games, South Africa remain very unpredictable. However, they may have turned the corner in the last match against Samoa. They have not struggled for scoring points, but their defence and discipline have been Achilles' heels. 

September 26	Samoa 6-46 South Africa
September 19	Japan 34-32 South Africa
August 16	Argentina 12-26 South Africa
August 8	South Africa 25-37 Argentina
July 25	South Africa 20-27 New Zealand

Scotland’s recent form is very good, with four wins from five. The only defeat was a narrow one in the Stade de France, not a happy hunting ground for many Scottish teams. Coach Vern Cotter has made Scotland organised and defensively sound.

September 27	Scotland 39-16 USA
September 23	Japan 10-45 Scotland
September 5	France 19-16 Scotland
August 29	Scotland 58-7 Italy
August 22	Italy 12-16 Scotland

Team Lineups

South Africa: Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Bryan Habana, Handre Pollard, Fourie du Preez; Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager Francois Louw, Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen

Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour, Richie Vernon, Matt Scott, Tim Visser, Duncan Weir, Greig Laidlaw; Gordon Reid, Fraser Brown, Willem Nel, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, Josh Strauss, Blair Cowan, David Denton.

Players to watch

South Africa: Jesse Kriel

In for Jean de Villiers in the Springbok midfield is the versatile and exciting Jesse Kriel.

Reuters’ Nick Said had this assessment of the 21-year-old: "Kriel's counter-attacking style, combining electric pace with slick, innovative handling, create danger for opponents from the most innocuous situations, adding much-needed unpredictability to the Boks' attack."

Despite Kriel operating mostly as a full-back with the Bulls in Super Rugby, South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer has high hopes for him as a 13, as Said also reported: "He has speed and his acceleration off the mark can be a big threat in attack. He has the potential to be the best outside centre South Africa has ever produced."

Kriel has big boots to fill and will now try to match his hype.

Scotland: Willem Nel

The dark blues will rely on South African-born Nel to grant them at least parity with the Springbok scrum and to show his dynamic side in the loose. A try against the USA capped a determined showing off the bench for Nel, who was crucial in helping his side overturn a 13-6 half-time deficit.

Nel is sure to be fired up for this one, and despite only having five caps for his adopted nation, he is already their key player.

Prediction

In a physical match, South Africa’s experience and pacy back three will see them overcome Scotland by about 10 points.

Odds

South Africa: 2-11

Scotland: 6-1

Draw: 40-1

Via oddschecker.com