Scots let Springboks off the hook

Scotland Tour: South Africa - 29 Scotland 25 It will be of scant consolation to Scotland to know that they joined the "six per-cent club" here in Durban. Membership is reserved for those baffled teams who outscore their opponents in tries but still end up losers.

In 708 Test matches between 1949 and 2002 it has happened only 45 times, according to data produced by the IRB Analysis Centre, and on each of those occasions it is a racing certainty the losers were left as desolately casting around for explanations as were the Scots on Saturday.

They did not just outscore the Springboks in tries, they gave them a lesson in handling rugby for much of the game, and if they had not toiled at the set-piece, particularly at the scrum, they could have further embarrassed a South African combination of glaring mediocrity and one booed by their own supporters.

As it was, Scotland led by three tries to nil and 25-12 going into the final quarter, when the prospect of a most famous victory induced an attack of indecision that allowed the Springboks to score two tries and 17 unanswered points for a win they in no way deserved .

One of Scotland's try-scorers, Andy Craig, said: "To be honest, I thought we had the game sewn up. Then I thought we sat back a little bit - just defended the lead instead of carrying on the way we had been playing.

"This tells us not to sit back and defend - we should have carried on attacking and scored another try or two. But at least we showed we can come over to the southern hemisphere and compete - we can aim to come to win."

Even after falling behind to South Africa's second try in the 71st minute it might not have been too late for Scotland. They camped on the home line for the last five minutes and won a succession of penalties after the siren had sounded before Nathan Hines dropped the ball inches from the ground as he reached out from the swirling morass of a maul.

"I thought we had advantage and that a penalty was coming to us," said the Scotland lock. "I went for it - nothing to lose - but didn't make it. One of their players knocked my trailing hand back, the ball was dislodged and I tried to do it one-handed and knocked on."

If he had grounded the ball the win would have ranked as one of the finest in Scotland's history, although it has to be put in the context of South Africa's dreadfulness.

This was only their second win in eight Tests and after 21 changes from their previous outing against England last November it is probable that half of this lot will also have been discarded by the time they next meet England in their World Cup group in Perth in October.

The Springboks were incapable of holding a pass in the first half and again had disciplinary problems, with the lock Victor Matfield, for a late tackle, and Joost van der Westhuizen, for a professional foul, both shown yellow cards.

Defeat in these circumstances was a bitter pill for the Scots to swallow but they travel to altitude and Johannesburg for the second Test in the sure knowledge that they have the beating of the Springboks: they just have to go prove it.

Guardian Service

SOUTH AFRICA: Loubscher (Van der Westhuyzen, 72); Terblanche, Snyman, Halstead, Willemse; L Koen, Van der Westhuizen (capt); Sephaka (Kempson, 65), Coetzee, Bands (Visagie, 72), Botha (Boome, 62), Matfield, Gerber, Van Heerden, Wannenburg (capt). Tries: Terblanche, Halstead. Conversions: Koen 2. Penalties: Koen 5. Yellow cards: Matfield 53, Van der Westhuizen 78.

SCOTLAND: Metcalfe; Paterson, Craig, Henderson (McLaren, 76), Logan; Townsend, Redpath (capt); Kerr, Bulloch (Russell, 72), Douglas, Murray, Hines, White (M Leslie, 62), Mower (Petrie, 72), Taylor. Tries: White, Craig, Paterson. Conversions: Paterson 2. Penalties: Paterson 2.

Referee: J Jutge (France).