Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick has pushed back against the notion that Saturday's Springbok side to face Scotland at Loftus Versfeld is anything less than a full-strength selection, despite the matchday 23 carrying 347 fewer caps than the one that dismantled England 54-21 at Ellis Park a week ago.
The starting XV have a combined 445 caps, with 69 on the bench. Scotland arrive with 761 caps across their matchday 23.
"Gone are the days where people will always say 'okay this team is the B team'. We don't have such," Stick said at Friday's captain's press conference in Johannesburg. He pointed specifically to tighthead Wilco Louw and outside centre Boan Venter — who spent time playing club rugby in Scotland — as calculated selections rather than fillers. "There's a bit of calculation that we've done there with those selections."
Stick also rates Scotland a stiffer test than England, noting their away win over Argentina and their Six Nations finish above England earlier this year. "I think they will be a better team in the sense of where they are. They are in a good space," he said, adding that past Springbok-Scotland matches have been closer than final scorelines suggest. "In the first 60 minutes it's always tight … if you look at the full-time score, it looks like it was just another easy game for us. No, we had to make sure that we perform well against them."
Stick, who worked under Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend at the Sharks, described the Scot's philosophy as expansive. "He enjoys beautiful rugby — champagne rugby — they like to go to the dance floor in the sense of moving the ball to the wider spaces." He flagged Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu and South Africa-bred Kyle Steyn as the key threats in a skilful Scottish backline, alongside a physical loose forward unit built around generating momentum.
Scotland's last victory over the Springboks came in 2010 at Murrayfield. South Africa have won the nine subsequent meetings, including all seven Tests played on home soil — though this will be the first between the two nations at Loftus Versfeld.