Scots eye Bok scalp to move up rankings

Scotland are eyeing moving up into the top five teams in world rugby and after their win over Australia they want the Boks as their next scalp to do that.

Currently the Scots are seventh in the world and will take on the second-placed Boks at Murrayfield on Saturday, but their playmaker Finn Russell revealed the team are looking to be one of the top five in World Rugby and can only do that by claiming the scalps of teams above them.

“In my time we have always been up there in the top ten, which is great, but we have got to push to get to the top five, if not higher. That is why it was a big result for us to beat Australia. We have beaten them the last three times we have played them,” Russell said.

“There wasn’t an expectation that we would beat them because they are still the No 3 team in the world but within the squad, we were confident going into that game and we knew if we played well, we would have the ability to beat them. That is the level of expectation we have got in this group just now, that we know we can knock over the No 3 team in the world.

“We can break into the top five. If we get the results we are looking for in the next few games and then into the Six Nations, we will be well on our way up there. I believe we can.”

Russell added the team would need to be at their best if they are to beat the Springboks but he believes they can.

“There is a lot of excitement building around this team and where we are going. We have been building over the last three, four, five years to get to where we are now and it feels like we are starting to turn a corner in terms of getting wins from more of the narrow games, which is great.

“Against South Africa, we are going to have to be at our best again and carry that same belief because it might be another narrow game. Australia managed to beat South Africa twice in the summer and we have managed to find a way to beat Australia so why can’t we do the same again this weekend? It’s a great challenge for us but we’ve got the belief we can do it.”