Scotland aim to 'blitz' the Boks
'We have a good feel for how they will come at us'
Scotland centre Marcus Di Rollo is convinced that they have found the perfect foil for South Africa's tactics. The two countries go head-to-head in the first of two tests, at the ABSA Stadium in Durban on Saturday.
The 28-year-old said the team's preparations have been good and he is convinced Scotland can shock South Africa.
"We have a good feel for how they will come at us," Di Rollo said.
"Sometimes, you can have good preparation and can't stop the opposition, but we are confident we are equipped to deal with them.
"We are organising ourselves much faster than even at the start of the Six Nations and that is a massive key to good defence.
"If you are in position, it is hard for the opposition to smash through and they will have to try moving the ball.
"We know about the South African blitz defence and we have a couple of ploys to get the ball to the outside.
"We have done a lot of general kicking to get the ball behind them.
"It is a defence we have seen a lot with Edinburgh, the Ospreys use it and the Dragons did when Percy Montgomery was there. It is a thing we have learned to deal with.
"The game that suits Scotland is getting the ball wide, but, when we played Wasps in the Heineken Cup, there was a lot more tactical kicking than normal and it worked."
The Scots are looking to defeat the Springboks for the first time on South African soil – in a year when they defeated France and England in the Six Nations Championship, before warming up for the trip to South Africa with a 66-19 win over the Barbarians last week.
Now the Edinburgh Gunners centre believes the resurgence enjoyed by Scotland under head coach Frank Hadden has led to greater expectations among fans.
"We have enjoyed a great revival in recent months, but that is exactly why we will be under an enormous amount of pressure.
"The more you win, the greater the pressure. When we played France in the Six Nations, there were no expectations at all and we could just go out and play.
"But, by the time we came to play England, the crowd were up for the game because they thought we had a good chance. It is hard for people not to get carried away.
"We have a decent chance, but one thing is certain – we are not going to wipe the Boks off the pitch."
