Six Nations shock: With Springboks watching, Scotland shatter England’s streak as Italy expose Irish frailties

If England believed their winning streak made them untouchable, Scotland ruthlessly shattered that illusion on Saturday.

That 31-20 Six Nations defeat was not just a setback; the English were exposed, and in South Africa, the Springboks will have been watching closely, analysing how to dismantle their Nations Championship opener opponents.

While the tournament is not won in February, the Scots handed the English a damaging loss thanks to a couple of South Africans who played commanding roles.

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After losing to Italy last weekend, Gregor Townsend’s side — who will also be one of the Boks’ opponents in July’s Nations Championship — redeemed themselves and will have made head coach Rassie Erasmus take plenty of notes. Notes on England’s frailties and on how Scotland can turn things around when they are under pressure.

England will now head to South Africa for the bi-annual tournament without their much-talked-about winning streak. Their pack faltered when the Scots introduced their SA-born powerhouse loosehead prop, and their inability to handle contestable kicks will excite the Boks.

Their struggles under the high ball hurt them significantly, with one of the kicks leading to a second yellow card for winger Henry Arundell. He was sent off, leaving them to play with 14 men for 30 minutes after receiving his first yellow card earlier in the match.

The South African players who led the Scottish charge were winger Kyle Steyn and replacement prop Pierre Schoeman. Steyn’s aerial play was magnificent, and he had Arundell under immense pressure. While double try-scorer Huw Jones is not SA-born, the outside centre spent a significant part of his early rugby career in Cape Town with the Stormers and Western Province.

Alongside Finn Russell and centre-captain Sione Tuipulotu, they drove the Scottish game. It is something the Springboks must take heed of — when Scotland are under pressure, they can upset the best of teams, even those considered unbeatable.

Their aerial supremacy, improved scrummaging, the creativity of Russell and their never-say-die attitude showed that the Scots cannot be written off in July, even after their opening loss to Italy.

In the earlier match on Saturday, Italy’s scrum against Ireland demonstrated their improvement in that area, despite losing narrowly in a game that ended 20-13. They were on top of the Irish for much of the contest, with the home side gaining the upper hand during a decisive 20-minute spell to seal the game.

Ireland barely survived the Italian onslaught and can count themselves fortunate to have finally got their campaign off the ground.

However, their flaws were laid bare for a second consecutive week, particularly at scrum time. The manner in which their tighthead, Tadhg Furlong, was exposed will raise warning signs. “Air Furlong”, as he was dubbed on social media afterwards, was lifted off the ground in one scrum as the Italian loosehead got underneath him. That totally dismantled the Irish set piece.

That was one of the highlights of a match that ended in a frantic sequence as Italy searched for a match-levelling converted try. They threw an intercept pass, and Ireland countered for a bonus-point score, only for flyhalf Jack Crowley to kick a penalty to the corner over the touch-in-goal line to end the match.

Former Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber, now a senior coach at Leinster, had already been made a scapegoat after Ireland’s opening loss to France. He can likely brace himself for fresh criticism regarding why Furlong’s scrummaging appears to have regressed and why flyhalf Sam Prendergast has yet to make the step up at an international level.