Scotland skipper explains how Finn Russell's return will change tactical approach for South Africa match

Gregor Townsend’s side earned praise, particularly the back line, for their cohesion and well drilled attacking plays as they defeated Los Pumas 47-38 in Cordoba. Their inaugural Nations Championship campaign now continues with a step up in difficulty as they travel to Pretoria to take on the Springboks.

Facing off against the number one ranked side in the world, even if they have named a starting XV and replacements that’s missing many big names, is a test that the skipper is relishing. When you play against the best you want to have your best players available so Tuipulotu is understandably thrilled to have Russell back in the team after he missed out in round one.

“The things that he can do, no-one else in the world can do” - Scotland skipper Sione Tuipulotu praises returning Finn Russell

He said: “It’s great to have Finn back, I know he’s been really excited to play. I know he did a little bit of training last week, and obviously now his body is right and ready to go for the big game. Yeah, I’m excited to have him back.

“In terms of playing style, [it changes] slightly. You’ve got to adapt to his skill set, definitely. His skill set is unique [compared] to other 10s, but I’ve got a lot of Test matches under the belt playing with Finn, so we have very good cohesion on the field - and off the field. I think he’ll slot back in quite nicely.

“The most important thing in that type of environment is just your communication against a D that puts you under a lot of pressure and of course the atmosphere is going to put us under a lot of pressure. So I’m just going to make sure that one of my main focuses is just [for] my communication between me and him to be where it needs to be for us to get the result.

“The things that he can do, no-one else in the world can do. To have one of those guys in your team, just to have him on your team sheet, he lifts the rest of the boys, and you feel it around camp. I’m massively excited as a captain to have him back involved and I’ve noticed the boys are as well.”

Previous meetings with South Africa have taught Scotland “painful lessons”

Scotland haven’t beaten the Springboks since 2010 and have never won a Test match against them on South African soil. Their most recent meeting was a 32-15 defeat for Gregor Townsend’s side at Murrayfield in November 2024 and Tuipulotu is hoping to take lessons from that match and others against the teams they have traditionally struggled against.

He added: “Playing the big teams in world rugby, your South Africa, your New Zealand, you can’t be delusional enough to think that you’re not going to have to do the hard work and to be able to do all the flashy work and get away with it on those type of days. I think we’ve had to learn that lesson quite painfully over the last three, four years. And I think South Africa is one of those teams that is going to ask the question: how much do you want to be out there?

“So I think that lesson - of knowing that we’re going to have to step up to the physical task to even be in with a chance on the big day - has been a massive lesson for us.”

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