Scotland’s suffering a warning for Ireland against Springboks

“It felt like we were fighting against a heavyweight boxer,” said Scotland back row Sam Skinner.

Scotland's Sam Skinner during the captain's run at the Stade de Marseille, Marseille. Photo credit: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.

Lessons from the coalface. Over ten days since Scotland’s World Cup ambitions were thrown off course by a suffocating Springbok performance in Marseille and Gregor Townsend’s lads are still waiting for the chance to get back on the bike.

Their time will come again this Sunday when they bump into Tonga at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice but their experience against the world champions has stayed with them and it offers a window into the task awaiting Ireland in Paris.