I THINK SCOTS CAN SPRING A SURPRISE

YOU don’t get many shock results or major surprises in the World Cup — Fiji and Samoa against Wales, and Tonga against France are the only ones that come to mind — but I’ve got a strong gut feeling that Scotland may pull off a famous win over South Africa and turn Pool B on its head.

Not that Scotland are minnows as such but after a whitewash in the last Six Nations many pundits seem to be writing them off in Pool B, suggesting they might struggle to qualify for the quarter- final. On the contrary, I think they could go very well. That Six Nations outcome was very misleading last season as Vern Cotter set about making changes.

The results were poor but they improved in a number of areas. The backs looked more inventive with Finn Russell calling the shots and the forwards played with passion.

They ran out of steam on the final weekend against Ireland but they could easily have won their matches against Wales and France.

Scotland are at their best when they play at 100mph, challenging in-your-face rugby when structure goes out the window and they play on wits and intuition. They are among the cleverest, most natural players around and often thrive on organised chaos.

Japan and the USA are must-wins before having a full-on tilt against South Africa at St James’ Park, Newcastle, on October 3. It has the potential to be one of the great occasions of the World Cup, with Scottish fans pouring over the border to make it a home match.