GUTSY SCOTS ARE CLOSING ON BIG GUNS

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30 STUART BATHGATE SAM SKINNER insists Scotland are very close to being able to beat South Africa – even though they lost by 15 points at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The Exeter lock was part of a pack bullied by the Springboks in the scrum for the 15-30 loss.

But the Scots led 10-8 at the break (Stuart Hogg, above, celebrating the first try) and were still only six points down with quarter of an hour to go – and Skinner reckons they played better than in their defeat by the Wallabies six days earlier.

He said: “We are close, really close. We’ve beaten Australia last weekend – and I genuinely believe we didn’t really get out of the blocks (in that game).

“We’ve put in a better performance against South Africa for sure. We are close. We’re playing at the top. Small margins have a big impact.

“It’s all there for us. We’ve got to stay ruthless with our mentality and keep improving.

“We know we have the quality to beat that South African outfit. They are world champions for a reason. But we can take genuine belief from that.”

Head coach Townsend accepted a lot went wrong on Saturday – but he also reckons a lot went right – and is confident problems can be sorted out quickly.

“Very fixable,” he said when asked about those problems. “The game is not just about you and what you can do with your game plan, it’s about how you can react to what the opposition are doing.

“In the second half the Springboks performed their roles really well and we didn’t.

“But there was a lot to take from that first half – our defence, our kicking game, the speed we got into play, our contact area and our lineout.”