Having said before the autumn Test series that he had planned out his selection for all four matches and, following last weekend’s defeat of Fiji, that the strongest possible side would face the Springboks, Gregor Townsend claimed that the line-up for Saturday’s match is “80 per cent” in line with the management’s original thinking.
A dozen changes having been made between the loss to Wales and last weekend’s eight try rout of the South Sea Islanders, that indicates that a dozen of those in the line-up are those he expected to be there.
Alex Dunbar’s defensive reputation had probably originally seen him included at inside centre, only for Glasgow team-mate Peter Horne’s to have out-performed him, while an argument could be made that Ben Toolis has moved past Edinburgh boiler-house partner and former Scotland captain Grant Gilchrist in the pecking order, but more likely the speediness of Stuart Hogg’s recovery was not something they had dared to count on back in October.
The most obvious change of plan, however, is Sam Skinner’s selection in the back-row , a week after he made an impressive debut at lock before switching to flanker in the closing stages of what was deemed by those who judge such matters, a man-of-the-match performance. The Exeter Chief’s name had been the biggest surprise in the squad for this series and while his opportunity owes much to the injury that has ruled out another newcomer, Kiwi recruit Blade Thomson, his physical presence could be especially welcome against these particular opponents.
“He took the game to the opposition and looked comfortable at Test level. It inspired him to play well,” Townsend contended. “We have seen a lot of him in training that he could go well at back row. He started at Exeter Chiefs in the back row and often moves from second row to back row in games. There are a few things he has to improve this week.
“We know the challenge is bigger and that he will have to keep his level of performance up for 80 minutes, but we are looking to see him starting in the back row. He has a real presence in the setpiece but he is a very good decision maker in attack. You saw that at the weekend. I never thought I would see a kick from him but it shows what goes through his mind.”
As Townsend noted, the very notion of ‘a best team’ is no more than a concept, subject to individual form and the nature of the opposition and that at least partly explains the inclusion of the one player not to have started either of the previous two matches.
After South African-born Allan Dell was one of only three players to start both previous matches – along with Tommy Seymour and WP Nel, both of whom do so again - London Irish prop Gordon Reid is being asked to make the leap from the second tier of English club rugby to take on one of the most formidable challenges that will ever confront a front-row forward, but Townsend said that had always been part of the plan.
“What Gordie has faced at London Irish is big packs every week,” he explained.“What you get in the Championship is a real test in the scrum. London Irish play with a tempo and are obviously winning most of their games so he won’t get tested as much around the field by the opposition, but he will be getting tested in the set-piece. Speaking to Gordie, he’s a very honest guy and he says his scrums are harder, or as hard, at Championship level as they are Premiership level. He is encountering different kinds of props – very big, heavy men.
“Gordie did a really good job for us last year. He started every game in the Six Nations, our scrum was a really strong part of what we did well and Gordie was a big reason for that. We didn’t take him on tour to give Allan Dell that opportunity to come back, which he’s grabbed. He’s been excellent this season for Edinburgh, on tour with us and the last couple of games, so he’ll have a big part to play in this game as well and he’ll be hugely motivated.
“This is an opportunity for Gordie to build on what he did in the Six Nations. When we looked at the opposition, one of the biggest threats was what South Africa pose around the scrum. In the first half of their England game, they really took on that English pack and drove them off the ball a couple of times, so for us to play the sort of rugby we aspire to play we’ve got to have our set-piece ball, we’ve got to make sure the opposition don’t get to dominate scrum, line-out maul or win an easy line-out off us.”
The match meanwhile offers a chance of redemption for the player who had most reason to fear he had played his way out of the team with his costly defensive errors in Cardiff, but Townsend expressed full confidence in Huw Jones, saying: “It’s a great game for him. He played a few seasons in South Africa and he’ll know a few of their players. He is fresh. He trained last week and was decisive in training. When he played well last year a lot of that was to do with how he trained. He has been sharp and can’t wait to get on the ball.” S
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