It'll be major disappointment for Scotland with this result. They came oh-so-close and really put huge pressure on South Africa early in that second half, but once again it was the Boks bomb squad that closed out the game as they did earlier in the year against New Zealand and Los Pumas. Scotland play host to Portugal next weekend before closing out the Autumn Nations Series against the Wallabies in two weeks time, while South Africa come up against England and then Wales to finish off 2024.

Both sides looked to use the wide channels to get onto the front foot, with Mapimpi scoring two tries as a result of his involvement. Duhan van der Merwe was effectively neutralised by the South African defence though, with the same tactics the Boks were using to get the ball to Mapimpi going awry for Scotland at times when they tried to set Van der Merwe up for a sprint down the touchline. Finn Russell was again an excellent orchestrator for the home side at the back, but Pollard and Le Roux matched him in that regard when the Boks had ball in hand.

Scotland made a huge effort at lineout time to make a nuisance of themselves on South African ball, and it really did look like it was rattling the Boks at times. Some really uncharacteristic errors from the visitors as a result of the contest, with the Scots doing well to neutralise the attack from the Boks at that set piece. South Africa did settle a bit in the second half with their lineouts again reverting to their more usual dangerous form in the final quarter.

It was very much South Africa's game when it came to the scrums. There were a couple of wonky ones early on in the match, but once they got the shove on they won penalty after penalty against a Scotland pack that simply couldn't stack up against that massive Springbok pack. That alone made a huge difference in this match, with the visitors managing to keep the game alive for themselves by winning those scrum penalties and forcing Scotland back out of Springbok territory.

Scotland had a period of 10 minutes in that second half where they had more than 80% of the possession. They spread the ball around really well at a great pace, but that speed was at times their undoing with a couple of passes going awry as they landed in touch. And despite all that time with ball in hand, even down in the right areas of the park, they weren't able to cross the chalk against a brutal South African defensive line.

It was messy from the Springboks throughout this clash, with knock ons aplenty all over the park costing them a couple of opportunities and gifting the ball right back to Scotland who were quick to switch from defence to attack to try and catch South Africa on the back foot. The discipline from the visitors also left a bit to be desired, finding themselves on the wrong side of Ridley's whistle at breakdowns way more than they would like.

So much hope for Scotland there in that second half as it looked like the Boks were unravelling, but that bomb squad rallied as only they can at the end to shut it down with two penalties and a converted try in the last 15 minutes. This was certainly not a tidy performance from South Africa, but they will be pleased to have started off their Autumn Nations Campaign on a high with this result.

Pollard curls it in from out on the right wing, and that's all she wrote!