Exclusive:I kicked Scotland to victory over South Africa in 2010 - here's what it takes to beat the mighty Springboks

Test matches between the two teams traditionally go the way of the Springboks, who have won 25 out of the 30 meetings. And in the past 16 years, results have stuck to the script since Dan Parks kicked Scotland to a 21-17 victory.

Since then, the Boks have won the last nine iterations of the match. Scotland have lost five times in Edinburgh, twice in the Southern Hemisphere and twice at the Rugby World Cup in 2015 in England and 2023 in France. The Scots have also never won a game against the Springboks in South Africa in five attempts dating back to January 1932.

With history like that, it’s easy to see why most aren’t giving Gregor Townsend’s side much chance of pulling off a huge upset at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday in this summer’s inaugural Nations Championship. Not to mention the fact that the Boks have won two Rugby World Cups and cemented themselves firmly on top of the World Rankings in the years since Scotland’s last win in the fixture.

However, upsets do happen and even if the South Africa team of 2010 wasn’t quite as all-conquering as the current one, it was still a shock result and a famous victory for Scotland. So who better to share his wisdom on what it takes to overcome the Springboks than the man who kicked all 21 points on that memorable autumn day in Edinburgh.

Remembering Scotland’s famous 21-17 win over South Africa - the last time the Scots beat the Springboks

Parks, the Australian-born fly-half who earned 67 caps for Scotland and scored 266 points between 2004 and 2012, produced a flawless performance from the tee on a rain soaked evening in the capital. He shared his memories from that match with The Scotsman as he recalled just how they managed to achieve the surprise win.

"The first thing to remember is, if you go in time order, in 2010 we'd come off the back of what I reckon was a successful Six Nations where we weren't predicted to do much. First game we lost to France, I wasn't involved. The next game against Wales we should have won but we lost, then the next game we played against Italy and they scored in the last minute to beat us. We drew with England and then we beat Ireland at Croke Park in the last game of rugby they played there.

"Then we went on tour to Argentina and had two historic wins over there, which I don't think has ever been done by Scotland. We were pretty settled before the first game of the Autumn Series against New Zealand and I still remember it, we were 3-0 up after eight minutes and were heavy on attack and had a lineout five meters from their line. I remember thinking at the time we had a real chance of winning the game but then in the space of about 23 minutes we were down 35-3. It put into context how far behind the superior nations we probably were.

"We end up losing that game 49-3 and we were a bit down and out because we thought we had a reasonable shot. Their ability to turn defence into attack was just way superior than any other team we'd ever faced. The next Monday we had a team review, it was in a room in Murrayfield that I'd never had any reviews in before and it wasn't a pleasant experience.

"South Africa had just beaten Wales and Ireland, they actually went on to beat England comfortably at Twickenham too, and we'd just been pumped by New Zealand. Part of the conversation was that South Africa were probably going to be playing golf three of the four days they were here before playing a Test match and we were going to be training as hard as we can to beat them. There was a real understanding of where things were at, that was the mindset, we could be wrong but they were expecting to come here on the back of that and we had different thoughts.

"Back in those days we had a different mindset around how we played, there was a real focus on our defence, strong forwards and strong outside backs. I played with some wonderful half backs and I like to think we had a pretty strong kicking game. So if we could get those things right on the back of the centres carrying really hard from midfield then we could accumulate points by putting oppositions under pressure. That game in particular that's obviously what happened.

"We didn't score any tries but we played in the right areas, the forwards earned penalties and we took the three points and before you know it somehow we'd won the game. If you were a bookie there were probably huge odds that we would have won that game but we had belief. I always remember from being a young kid, if you go into a game expecting you're going to win and you go up against a team that has nothing to lose and everything to gain then I back the team with nothing to lose. Once we got to that game and felt like we had a chance of winning we did everything we possibly could to win it and I think that was ultimately the difference in achieving success."

It’s fair to say that the game of rugby has evolved and changed significantly over the past two decades and Test matches being won solely from the boot of a reliable kicker are few and far between. The modern Scotland identity certainly relies more on attacking flair but Parks recalls the famous Argentina team from the 2007 Rugby World Cup and the inspiration they provided not just to them but so many other sides.

“If you go back to that era and the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the most incredible performance was by Argentina. Every time they were in a position to score three points they did and it just breaks teams' hearts. You defend, defend, defend then all of a sudden it would go back and they'd kick a drop goal. You just can't stop that, once they got into a zone they were going to score points

"In many ways that was our plan against South Africa. If you look at what we did against Argentina over there, that was our blueprint, play the ball in the right areas of the park, gain possession, win the territory battle, hold possession, and once we get an opportunity, we kick points. Back then that was the blueprint for success.

"Obviously now the game has completely changed. In the big games there is still a massive element of building pressure but most of the games now are won on tries. That's just how it is but back then it was different.

“The South Africans are big men and their might have been a sense of intimidation at one point when they arrived but once the game started and you feel the hits and understood what you were up against it either gives you confidence or it doesn't and on that occasion it made us feel that this team wasn't as ready as what they probably should have been for a Test match and that was the difference. We just had that motivation, we could feel it early in the game and we rode it, that was the biggest part of it."

Former Scotland fly-half recalls playing against some of the greatest ever 10s - from Carter to Sexton

Parks was crucial to Scotland’s success on many occasions with his final international points tally of 266 placing him as the sixth overall men’s points scorer in the nation’s history. He was privileged to play at a time where he could share the field with some of the greatest stand-offs the game has ever produced.

His opposite number in their win over the Springboks was Morné Steyn, who scored 742 points in 68 caps throughout his international career. The week prior to that he was face-to-face with legendary All Black Dan Carter and had battles with the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Ronan O’Gara, Felipe Contepomi and a young Johnny Sexton to name just a few.

“It was amazing looking back,” explained Parks. “That Six Nations against Wales I think Stephen Jones was the ten that day, against Ireland a young Johnny Sexton started, then we went to Argentina and Felipe Contepomi, then we came back to Scotland and it was Dan Carter and Morné Steyn.

“Morné and Dan were different types of players, Morné was probably a bit more strategic and he was a points accumulator where as Dan could do everything, he didn't rely on any one part of his game, he was a magician and it didn't matter what he had to do for his team, he could get it done. It was great playing back then.

“In my era playing for Scotland I had a lot of hard times early in my career, it wasn't the most pleasant experience, we weren't a strong team but we were building and we got to a pretty good point and the 2010 team in particular was a really strong team and we had some really good results that year. The next week we played Samoa up in Aberdeen, it was possibly the coldest game of rugby I've ever played in.

“I look back on it with fond memories and it was a good build up to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Unfortunately we didn't succeed there but we had a good year in 2010 and the win over South Africa was a very special moment that will forever stay in my memory.

"It feels like every year we play against the Springboks and we haven't won since 2010 so lets hope that can change. It's pretty hard against the Springboks just now, they're on a different level and it's remarkable how they've adjusted to the game and the laws and I take my hat off to them every time every time I watch them play, they're amazing.

"But what I've seen from the Scots, what a bunch of entertainers, which is great. It's unfortunate that for all the massive campaigns over the last five or six years we've been crippled by injuries at key moments to key players. Watching from afar it's extremely frustrating and I wish Scotland at some point had their strongest team available for a whole tournament, whatever that looks like, because there is no question we'd give it a real shake.”

Scotland can take inspiration from Australia and James O’Connor in bid to beat South Africa

With all that in mind there remained only one question for the former Scotland kicking machine to answer. What advice would he give to the current men in dark blue about how you go about beating the Springboks?

"There's no question they face a completely different challenge to the one we did,” he said. “South Africa are more elite now than when we played against them. Yes they were in the top three teams in the world back then but they are a standout in world rugby right now. It's a lot harder now.

"Finn Russell is one of the greats, every time he plays it's exciting to turn the TV on and watch it. I'm still a believer in scoreboard pressure and if you can build a lead, especially more than seven, it puts your opponents under a bit more pressure.

"I live here in Australia and one of the greatest victories I've seen in modern times is the win the Wallabies got over the Springboks a few years ago. That was a famous, famous victory where they were down and out early in the game. South Africa almost got into a sense of complacency after scoring easy early tries and then Australia went on a bit of a run, James O'Connor started pulling the strings and watching that game it was just one of those moments you knew was historic because the South Africa team didn't know what to do. They'd been hit with a wave that generally they hit other countries with and everything the Wallabies did that night turned in their favour.

"In many ways you need a lot of luck, a lot of good fortune to go your way, but ultimately you've got to stay true to yourselves and play your own game. Australia played their own game, they stuck to it and they got the result.

"Looking back to 2010, we got off to a good start and we stuck to our plan, made our tackles, not that I made many, and because it was a bit slippery and all the rest of it there were errors and we came away with the victory. Test rugby is hard and on any day any nation can win, especially in the top tier.

“Scotland have so much talent at the moment and it doesn't take much, if you have two poor moments you can lose 14 points like that, and I think we've seen that too often in games of rugby where as once upon a time that didn't happen as frequently. The game has certainly changed and I'll be watching and I hope Scotland can get it done."

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