Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu admits they will face the toughest test in world rugby when they clash with South Africa next weekend.
The Scots got their Nations Championship campaign off to a flying start last night courtesy of an emphatic bonus-point win away against Argentina.
Gregor Townsend’s men ran in seven tries and won with plenty to spare, with their dominance skewed somewhat by the concession of two late tries and a final scoreline of 47-38.
Indeed, it was their highest ever score away from home in Argentina, all the more impressive given that they achieved it without Finn Russell.
They have now travelled to Pretoria for a showdown with the Springboks, who battered England 45-21 yesterday afternoon.
Tuipulotu is under no illusions about how difficult the task will be – and he admitted that Scotland will need to step it up another level.
Scotland captain Suine Tuipulotu says they will need to go up a few gears against South Africa
Scotland’s players celebrate their emphatic 47-38 victory against Argentina in Cordoba
Rory Hutchinson scores a try in the first game of Scotland’s Nations Championship campaign
‘To be honest, I didn’t see their game against England,’ he said. ‘Listen, we know the challenge goes up a few gears next week.
‘Playing South Africa on their own patch is pretty much the biggest challenge in world rugby right now.
‘They are back-to-back world champions. It’s a unique challenge but one we are really excited for.
‘We are really pleased to get our Nations Championship off to a great start, but next week will be a different animal.
‘I think those final five minutes when we lost a couple of tries will probably narrow the focus for next week – 100 per cent.
‘We let in two tries which were probably avoidable in those last few minutes. That’s definitely something we will look at for next week.’
Scotland had far too much power, pace and accuracy for Argentina. It was also a nice measure of revenge given the capitulation against the same opponents at Murrayfield last November.
On the fact they managed the game far better this time around, Tuipulotu added: ‘We knew momentum shifts were going to play a huge part in the game. I spoke to the group before the game about it.
‘If we thought we were just going to come out here and have it all our own way, with one-way traffic for the whole 80 minutes, it was never going to happen.
‘We handled those momentum shifts really well in the game. We knew that Argentina were going to come at us at some points in the game, but overall we coped well with it.
‘It’s not an easy thing to do away from home, but I thought we answered that pretty well if I’m honest.’
