There's little to dispute here. Scotland threw everything they had into this match, igniting their beloved stadium with repeated roars, but the scoreline of four tries to none speaks for itself. And it's a familiar tale. South Africa, without ever appearing to go beyond their usual performance, were simply too strong. The image of a powerful puncher failing to land a single blow came to mind as the Springboks kept a spirited Scotland at bay, rarely troubled despite their opponents' fire and enthusiasm.
Time and again, either side of half-time, Scotland broke through, but they couldn't quite score a try, let alone four. Eben Etzebeth, the only Springbok forward to play the entire match, stood out as a commanding figure, towering over his opponents and, at times, even laughing in their faces. His partner in the engine room for the first half, Franco Mostert, fell victim to a double clear-out, resulting in a 20-minute red card for Scott Cummings in the first quarter. Scotland managed to cope with his absence, despite a freakish try by the Springboks while he was off the field, but as the game progressed, the full complement of Scots began to wane as the match slipped away.
Those who fear that these 20-minute red cards will lead to a wave of lawlessness, as cynical coaches supposedly instruct their players to infringe at will, should at least take comfort in the fact that these half-fat reds seem to be issued more frequently than the full-fat versions were. It's hard to imagine Cummings's offense attracting the ultimate sanction in just the 11th minute under the old system.
The incident happened in an instant, with two players clearing out Mostert, who seemed already off balance and falling backward. Initially, it appeared that Rory Darge, the other Scot, was the culprit. He could just as easily have been singled out. The review found Cummings liable for the full sanction, so Scotland had only 20 minutes to endure with 14 men. They handled this period well enough, trailing 12-9 when Max Williamson replaced Cummings in the 32nd minute. Finn Russell landed his third penalty as Williamson entered the fray.
Moments earlier, South Africa had retaken the lead with an unconventional try. Bongi Mbonambi had been struggling at the lineout when he couldn't quite find Mostert at an attacking set piece just inside Scotland's 22. But the loose ball fell to Thomas du Toit, and the Springbok prop found himself with a straightforward path to the line. Bad luck for Scotland, but there's no disputing South Africa's other two first-half tries, both expertly finished by Makazole Mapimpi, but brilliantly constructed. Scotland's defense out wide seemed strangely absent for both, but the cross-kicks that set up Mapimpi, by Handre Pollard in the fourth minute and Willie le Roux in the 35th, were spot on, with Le Roux's in particular a stroke of genius.
Scotland thought they had scored on the stroke of half-time – and how. Sione Tuipuloto released Tom Jordan, who looked every inch the full-back as he streaked away. His inside ball found Ben White, sending Murrayfield into a frenzy. Alas, the television match official spotted a knock-on at the preceding ruck by Huw Jones, so the try was disallowed, and the Springboks' 19-9 lead survived into the break. Russell cut the deficit to seven only a few minutes into the second half, following a rare Springbok infringement at the scrum. Within another couple of minutes, South Africa had replaced all seven of their forwards on the bench, but this seemed only to inspire Scotland.
Their best period followed, with the Scots tearing through the Springbok defense, one minute Jones stepping this way and that, the next Jordan doing much the same. Surely Scotland must score, all the more so when Mapimpi was shown yellow at the height of the excitement. But when you're playing the world champions, such encouragement must be converted into points – and lots of them. All Scotland could take from the spell, a good 15 minutes or so of pressure, was another three points from Russell on the hour, pulling them to within four. That was as close as they would come. The Springbok machine, particularly ruthless at scrum time, cranked up for the final quarter. Pollard landed two penalties to put them 10 points ahead with around five minutes to go. When another Scotland scrum splintered in the final minute, Jasper Wiese scored South Africa's fourth.
A harsh scoreline for a somewhat encouraging performance by Scotland, but some narratives are set in stone. These South Africans can beat you in any number of different ways. They are well worth their status as the world's best.
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