McGeechan out to upset Springboks

Scotland coach Ian McGeechan today insists there will be no room for experimentation when he announces the team to face South Africa at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The Scots handed debuts to three new faces in the 37-10 win over Romania at the weekend, with Glasgow full-back Stuart Moffat and Borders pair Nikki Walker and Bruce Douglas getting their first taste of international action.

Whilst the pack may have taken on a familiar look, other than the introduction of Douglas at prop, the backs, with the inexperienced Andy Craig of Orrell in the centre and Leeds’ Gordon Ross at stand-off, had a fresh-faced look to them.

However, McGeechan refused to accept the South African Test would be used to experiment further with the side as he bids to put together a side capable of making an impact at next year’s World Cup.

He said: “There’s no question you’ve got to put out the side you want to perform and have the best chance of winning.

“The thing about the autumn is you give the players that experience. We’ve got some players coming through, but they’re not coming through just as add-ons, they’re coming through because they’re players, we think, who have got something to offer.”

McGeechan candidly confessed after the win over Romania that the players would have to step up their performance if they were to have any chance of beating the South Africans, despite the Springboks own disappointing 30-10 defeat to France at the weekend.

And he admitted training this week had been centred on building confidence and improving the basics that let the side down against the Romanians.

He added: “We’ve looked hard at certain things. It’s the confidence to do certain things at points in the game.

“We can see the benefits when things go well and that is very important for the belief of the players, in seeing what can work and when.

“There’s also certain core things that never change – if you do them well you have every opportunity of playing well or having good phases in the game and if you don’t then as a team you struggle.”