It was easy for Kiwi rugby fans to dismiss Ireland as a quality but not world-class rugby nation, but that notion seemingly changed in Chicago five years ago. “Then I believe that will get us over the line, but it will take an enormous effort to replicate those performances.” “The performance in Paris and England, another one of them, but probably a little bit extra,” said the former Scotland playmaker. Townsend said Scotland would have to dig deep to stand a chance of beating South Africa, needing to be accurate and play with “huge physicality”. “It obviously makes sense when you’re playing the world champions, when you play a team that is very tough to play against and has still managed to produce a win over the All Blacks and two wins over the Lions. “This is the biggest challenge we’ve had over the last two years,” said Townsend.
The Springboks, who beat Wales 23-18 in Cardiff last week, finished third in the recent Rugby Championship, behind New Zealand and Australia.īut Townsend said they were still a major threat, pointing to a victory over the All Blacks and a test series win against the British and Irish Lions earlier this year. “When they’ve been given the opportunities in the last 12 months to knock over some teams they’ve not beaten for a while, not every time, but on a number of occasions, they’ve done it,” he said. #ENGvAUS #Wallabies #AutumnNationsSeries īut they already have some form in upsetting the odds this year, beating England at Twickenham for the first time since 1983 in the Six Nations before snatching their first victory in Paris since 1999.Ī bullish Townsend said Thursday those results showed Scotland were “up there with the best teams in the world”. Michael Hooper reckons that, encircled by 80,000 people, Twickenham’s going to feel a lonely place for him and his Wallabies team – and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Scotland, who beat Australia 15-13 last week, take on the world champions in Edinburgh on Saturday as they try to end a miserable run of defeats by the Springboks dating back to 2010.