Our chief rugby writer Graham Bean joins sports editor Mark Atkinson from France to discuss the upcoming Scotland v South Africa Rugby World Cup clash.
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00:00 Hello and welcome to the Scotsman Rugby Show. My name is Mark Atkinson and I'm delighted
00:07 to be joined by our Chief Rugby Writer, Graham Bean, who is in La Censure, Mare, outside
00:12 Toulon. Graham, what takes you to that part of France today ahead of the Rugby World Cup?
00:17 Good afternoon, Mark. Yes, I came here to have a quick word with the South Africans
00:22 who are based here and who play Scotland on Sunday in Marseille in one of the first games
00:30 in the NBA. We're on the beach just at the Mediterranean. It's a beautiful day. The sun
00:40 is shining and the waves are crashing off the sand just in front of me. It's a very,
00:48 very nice hotel the South Africans are staying in. Very opulent. I wouldn't expect anything
00:54 less for the defending world champions. Of course, as you say, they play Scotland in
00:58 their opening match. What's the mood like in the Springbok camp ahead of Sunday's clash?
01:05 They seem very relaxed. I wouldn't say they were overly confident, but they just seem
01:11 very relaxed. Very friendly people around the group. We spoke to Dwayne Vermaelen, the
01:20 veteran back row forward, who is in good form, singing the praises of Finn Russell. One of
01:28 the coaches, Dion Davids, who is a long-term coach at South Africa. They're all geared
01:36 up for Sunday. They've made quite a big impression over here. A lot of the locals have taken
01:43 to them. There's flags, South African flags all over the town. I think they'll certainly
01:49 could be the second team after France around here.
01:52 Unless, of course, they meet. Are they potentially on a collision course? Hopefully not. Hopefully
01:57 Scotland are ahead of them, but they could meet in the quarters?
02:01 They could meet in the quarters, yes. South Africa, if they were to win the group and
02:09 France were to finish second and pull away, they would meet each other in the quarters
02:12 and vice versa. You have to say there's a pretty strong chance of that happening. Scotland
02:18 will be doing their best to prevent the box going any further than the group stage.
02:24 Absolutely. Let's talk about Scotland. They are based in the Nice area. That's where you're
02:29 staying at the moment. It's a day trip for you over to Toulon. Describe to us where Scotland
02:36 are, what their camp's like and what they've been doing the past couple of days.
02:40 Yes, Scotland arrived on Sunday. They flew into Nice and they had their official welcome
02:48 ceremony yesterday in the city. It was on the Promenade Anglaise and in the baking midday
02:57 sun and all the Scotland team had to sit there in their new suits. It was pretty hot, I have
03:03 to say. It was a very nice ceremony, a beautiful location. They're based in a place called
03:10 near Valbonne, a small town, a bit more inland near Nice. It's where the England women's
03:18 team were when they won the Euros last summer.
03:22 Everywhere around here is absolutely beautiful. It's stunning. The weather is hot. Scotland
03:31 have been familiar with this part of the world. This is the third time they've been out here
03:34 this summer. They had a training camp earlier and then they based themselves here before
03:39 their warm-up game against France and Stettin. They're very familiar with the hotel and the
03:45 area and the training facilities. They seem quite comfortable here. They'll play their
03:49 second match of the tournament in Nice as well. It's an area they've got to know pretty
03:54 well over the last few months.
03:56 Is it fair to say the mood is quite relaxed at the moment ahead of the tournament? It
04:02 feels like we're not quite at the nitty-gritty of tournament rugby yet?
04:08 Yes, absolutely. I think the formalities of the welcome ceremony, everyone is going to
04:13 be on their best behaviour and saying diplomatic things. I think that will continue for a few
04:19 days. There will be no animosity from either camp towards the opponents. I suppose we'll
04:27 wait and see when the teams get named. There will be a little bit more interest in this
04:31 fixture as the week goes on.
04:35 That game is on Sunday. We start off with a blockbuster, don't we? France against New
04:41 Zealand. You couldn't ask for a better team to kick things off.
04:45 Yes, it's a great game. They joined favourites for the tournament, facing off against each
04:49 other. A lot of people are saying this could be the final as well, further down the road
04:54 in October, back at the Stade de France. It should be an absolute cracker on Friday.
05:01 Friday is also an important day for the rugby fans in Scotland because that's when Gregor
05:05 Townsend names his team to face the Springboks.
05:09 Yes, that's right. They'll name that probably around lunchtime on Friday. I don't think
05:15 there will be too many surprises but it's eagerly anticipated nonetheless. It's interesting,
05:20 I was talking to some South Africans today and they were hinting that they might even
05:25 name their team early this week. Usually, the team is named 40 hours before the match
05:30 but the South Africans quite like to get it out there. It takes away the possible speculation
05:40 about who's playing and who's not playing. It'll be interesting to see if they do that.
05:45 Regardless of who they pick, they're a formidable outfit, aren't they? Do you expect, firstly,
05:51 have we got any injury concerns, any fitness concerns around the Scotland camp in the last
05:55 couple of days?
05:56 Well, Darcy Graham missed the George Sturkey. He had a quad strain, just hurt his thigh
06:04 a little bit in training before that one. Gregor Townsend seems quite confident that
06:10 he'll be okay to play on Sunday. Scotland were due to train today. They'll train again
06:18 on Thursday. I suppose we'll just wait and see on Darcy.
06:25 Luke Crosby, I think, is a more serious doubt. He also injured himself in training here at
06:31 the Georgia game and I don't think he will be fit enough to be involved this weekend.
06:39 Fortunately, Scotland do have plenty of back row options should Crosby not make it. Obviously,
06:47 we're talking here hugely excited about the World Cup that Anticipation is building back
06:51 home. Have you seen many Scotland fans over in Nice this week?
06:57 Not yet. It's a little early. I would imagine over the next couple of days. You have to
07:03 remember that Scotland are playing their first game in Marseille. I suppose there'll be more
07:09 heading into Marseille. We're heading up to Marseille on Thursday. I expect they'll start
07:14 arriving Thursday, Friday. I think there'll be lots of South Africans there as well. It
07:20 should be a great atmosphere and a great stadium as well.
07:23 Marseille will be a busy place. Am I right in saying that England and Argentina also
07:28 play this weekend in Marseille?
07:29 Yes, that's right. Saturday night is England and Argentina. A huge game for them as well.
07:34 Their form has been dreadful coming into this tournament. Of course, Argentina beat them
07:39 last year at Twickenham. That's another cracker on the first weekend of this tournament.
07:44 Yes, it promises to be lively on the south coast of France. That is for sure.
07:49 Graeme, thank you very much for joining us from La Seine-sur-Mer, the Springbok camp.
07:55 No doubt we'll chat again in the coming days once the Scotland team is named. All of Graeme's
08:00 pieces will be on scottsman.com and in the newspaper. So please make sure you pick up
08:05 a copy or log on to read all the ways from the Scotland camp. From myself and Graeme,
08:09 goodbye for now.
08:10 Thank you.