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The West Australian
November 18, 2013, 8:15 am
Edinburgh (AFP) - South Africa showed their pedigree as the world's number two side, despatching Scotland 28-0 with clinical efficiency in a one-sided contest at a rainswept Murrayfield on Sunday.
The Springboks scored their first try from a line-out drive in the fifth minute, courtesy of openside flanker Willem Alberts, and added two more before half-time, full back Willie le Roux crossing the home whitewash on the half hour and then setting up JP Pietersen.
It was a fine way for Pietersen to mark his 50th cap and afterwards the 27-year-old wing, a member of the Springboks' 2007 World Cup-winning team, told the BBC: "It is an amazing achievement and to play it at Murrayfield is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.
"We wanted to step up this weekend and we did that. We executed the game plan well. The conditions didn't suit us but we took the opportunities we had."
South Africa had the match won at half-time, the visitors leading 21-0, with replacement prop Coenie Oosthuizen adding a fourth try as Heyneke Meyer's team made it two wins out of two on their November tour of Europe, following last weekend?s 24-15 victory against Wales.
They did suffer one setback, Bath flanker Francois Louw departing in a neck brace with four minutes remaining, but they move on to finish their tour against France in Paris next Saturday still to concede a try on this trip.
Meyer made four changes to the team that beat Wales, bringing Gurthro Steenkamp and Adriaan Strauss into the front row, recalling veteran Bakkies Botha in the second row and installing le Roux at full-back, with Patrick Lambie switched to fly half.
Scotland made six changes to the team that overcame Japan 42-17 eight days previously.
There were recalls in the pack for locks Richie Gray and Jim Hamilton, for openside flanker John Barclay and for props Alasdair Dickinson and Moray Low -- and a first start for Saracens utility back Duncan Taylor at inside centre.
For all of the increased ballast in the home pack, however, there was no stopping South Africa when they put their line-out maul into operation.
With five minutes on the clock, Lambie kicked a penalty to touch in the left corner, No 8 Duane Vermeulen plucked Strauss's throw out of the air and the Springbok pack drove Alberts over the home try-line for an easy score.
Lambie landed the conversion to give South Africa a 7-0 lead but the outside-half, who has Scottish grandparents, was wide of the mark with a penalty attempt ten minutes later, after Tommy Seymour obstructed Bryan Habana.
It took Scotland 29 minutes to break out of their own half and mount their first attack, but in doing so they handed South Africa their second try.
In attempting to find Richie Gray with an outside pass, Ruaridh Jackson merely succeeded in slamming the ball off Sean Maitland?s shoulder, allowing le Roux to gather possession and gallop 70 metres for his fourth international try.
Lambie nailed the conversion and did so again two minutes later after the outstanding le Roux fashioned a third Springbok try, breaking from deep before angling a kick to the right corner for Pietersen.
That left Scotland 21-0 down at the interval and facing a mountainous challenge.
South Africa could afford to take their foot off the gas, with one eye on their trip to Paris, and still coast to victory.
Their fourth try came in the 53rd minute, Oosthuizen scoring from a line-out drive in the left corner and Lambie once again converting.
The biggest cheer from the home crowd came in the 61st minute when Gray was replaced by his 19-year-old brother Jonny, the Glasgow lock becoming Scotland?s first teenage cap since Henry Inglis in 1951.
Scotland finish their November series against Australia at Murrayfield on Saturday.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...troy-scotland/
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