[Source: Rugby World Cup]
South Africa kicked off their Rugby World Cup title defence with a bruising and streetwise 18-3 victory over Pool B rivals Scotland in Marseille.
It wasn’t a game full of entertaining and free-flowing rugby as both sides rolled up their sleeves in a battle that the Springboks ultimately got the better of.
Tries from Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse helped them to victory, with Manie Libbok kicking two penalties and Faf de Klerk one conversion.
There was controversy early on, however, as centre Jesse Kriel made head-on-head contact with Scotland number eight Jack Dempsey that went unpunished.
The defeat leaves Gregor Townsend’s side with no margin for error in their remaining three matches against Tonga, Romania and Ireland if they are to qualify for the quarter-finals.
The two sides went into the tournament in a confident mood following encouraging summer campaigns which left the Boks ranked second and the Scots fifth in the world, but with Ireland – the top-ranked team – also in Pool B, the pressure was on both nations to start with a victory.
The Springboks started in more assured fashion and had a chance to get the scoreboard up and running in the 11th minute when the Scots were deemed to have collapsed the scrum, but Libbok hooked his penalty wide from 40 metres.
South Africa got their first try of the match in the 47th minute when Du Toit pushed over on the left after a sustained spell of pressure. Libbok was off target with his conversion attempt.
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