Erasmus not taking Scotland lightly

LONDON – Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus believes the rankings will count for nothing on Sunday when they face Scotland.
South Africa are ranked second in the world, five places ahead of their opponents.
The Springboks are also fresh from winning the Rugby Championship, where they dominated southern hemisphere rivals Australia and New Zealand.
Captain Siya Kolisi is one of seven forwards among eight replacements in Erasmus’s matchday 23.
Veteran lock Eben Etzebeth will captain South Africa, who won this year’s southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, as the Springboks look to end 2024 by beating Scotland, England and Wales.
Etzebeth, already South Africa’s most-capped player of all time, will extend his record to 129 Tests, with back-row Kwagga Smith winning his 50th cap.
Franco Mostert and RG Snyman return to the Springboks’ second row after long spells out injured.
Erasmus has long favoured a forward-dominated bench, with outstanding flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit joining the so-called “Bomb Squad” among the Springboks’ replacements at Murrayfield.  
Erasmus has made 11 changes to the starting team that thrashed Argentina 48-7 in the Springboks’ closing Rugby Championship clash in Mbombela in September. 
“They’re a team that never stop fighting,” said Erasmus of Scotland as he forecast “an epic battle”.
“In the Rugby World Cup last year we were only three points up against them at half-time, and with the new dynamic they have brought to their game, we know it’s going to be an 80-minute battle.”