Scotland 3 South Africa 27: Hadden's Scots hit a Springbok brick wall

Scotland did not do England any favours when they failed to disturb the confidence of a South African team fancied by some to go the distance in the World Cup. The Scots were beaten by three goals and two penalties to a penalty, though in the second half they made their visitors, who face England in Paris on 14 September, look ordinary.

Frank Hadden, after a win over a seriously weakened Ireland here two weeks ago, opted to field a side who were a bunch of coconuts shy of the full Bounty. Still, South Africa were not entirely convincing against a limited but physical Scottish side.

Jake White fielded pretty much his front-line team. Had Scotland done the same perhaps more than 30,342 spectators would have seen, among South Africa's try-scorers, Bryan Habana. The Bulls wing took his total for his country to 22 as the Boks scored three in a purple patch in the first half.

Rory Lamont gave Scotland an early attacking platform, hoisting up-and-unders and catching his own kicks. Another Lamont skyscraper produced the lead when the Boks were penalised in front of their posts and Paterson kicked the points.

Scotland's advantage lasted just four minutes, though, as Percy Montgomery levelled with a similarly easy penalty. Then Scotland were exposed as the No 8 Danie Rossouw slipped a pass to Habana, who shot through a gap with the pace of a startled cheetah: simple but deadly.

When Mike Blair then failed to gather a kick inside his 22, Jaque Fourie helped himself to a try, the score being confirmed by the video official. By the 27th minute the visitors had extended their lead to 24-3. After the home No 8, Dave Callam, had skewed a clearance kick the Boks ran back with interest, and a flowing move ended with a try for the scrum-half, Fourie du Preez.

South Africa found the second half a frustrating experience. They were downright clumsy in their approach work, and the introduction of all the replacements did nothing for continuity. Scotland defended with pride and restricted the Boks to a penalty, kicked by Montgomery in the 51st minute. The closest South Africa came to a fourth try was when Habana sprinted into the Scottish 22, but Lamont managed to grab one of the great wing's legs.

"That is exactly what we needed, an extremely hard match against tough opposition," Hadden said. "It was fast and physical, and by the time I look at the video we will have gained an enormous amount. South Africa had to defend very well."

Asked if South Africa would beat England in the key Pool A match, Hadden replied: "To be honest, I don't care."

White said: "To win without conceding a try is exactly what we wanted. We spent 45 hours travelling last week to play two games in five days, so it was always going to be tough for us in the second-half."

Scotland: R Lamont; N Walker, R Dewey, A Henderson, S Webster; C Paterson, M Blair; G Kerr, R Ford, E Murray, N Hines, J Hamilton, J White (capt), D Callam, K Brown. Replacements: A Hogg for White, 30; A Jacobsen for Kerr, 33; H Southwell for Henderson, 46; S Murray for Hamilton, 46; D Parks for Paterson, 54; R Lawson for Blair, 66; F Thomson for Ford, 66.

South Africa: P Montgomery; JP Pietersen, J Fourie, F Steyn, B Habana; B James, F du Preez; O du Randt, G Botha, CJ van der Linde, B Botha, V Matfield (capt), S Burger, D Rossouw, J Smith. Replacements: A Pretorius for Steyn, 56; W van Heerden for Rossouw, 56; R Pienaar for Montgomery, 61; BJ Botha for du Randt, 61; B du Plessis for G Botha, 61; A van den Berg for B Botha, 61; A Willemse for Pietersen, 72.

Referee: C Berdos (France).