Zondagh: Scots on right track

AB ZONDAGH says he’s already seen enough in his short time working with the Scotland squad to believe they will be a force to be reckoned with at the World Cup. The attack specialist was recruited from Toulouse in August and joined up with the national team last month, filling the void left by Mike Blair’s departure to become Edinburgh head coach. Gregor Townsend’s men have had mixed results during the autumn series to date, thrashing Tonga, squeezing past Australia before being outplayed by South Africa last weekend. They have one final outing at home to Japan on Saturday afternoon before turning their focus to the Six Nations at the start of next year. Asked if Scotland can beat his native South Africa or Ireland in their World Cup pool in 2023, Zondagh replied in positive fashion. He said: ‘Definitely. I’m convinced we can beat one out of the two. In fact, we can beat them both. ‘We’ve still got time, and there have been big lessons learned from the weekend, but we can also take a lot of confidence out of the good things we’ve done. ‘I don’t think South Africa is going to change the way they play, but us as a team will keep learning, keep evolving and keep getting better with each game. ‘It’s a very confident group in the way that they carry themselves and train. There’s a real belief from players and management that we can beat any team. ‘That’s why we were disappointed after the South Africa match as we felt we were in a real position to beat them but couldn’t finish the game off. ‘That confidence is massive and is something this group will keep with them and build on towards the World Cup.’