In his new role as Scotland captain, Sione Tuipulotu has been a breath of fresh air over these past couple of weeks.
A bright and positive character whose enthusiasm is infectious to those around him, he speaks with a refreshing sense of honesty and doesn’t duck any questions.
When he took his seat in the media room deep in the bowels of Murrayfield on Sunday night, Tuipulotu spoke from the heart about the opportunity Scotland had let slip against South Africa.
‘I thought the last bit of execution really let us down, especially in the finish zone, close to the line at least,’ he said. ‘So, yeah, we’ve got to take responsibility for that. The game was there to be won and we didn’t execute.’
Tuipulotu had hit the nail on the head. He wasn’t particularly interested in discussing the ‘learnings’ of what Scotland could take from this, a line we so often hear from players after these defeats.
He knew this had been a massive opportunity, one which Scotland had ultimately squandered in a pulsating Test match against the world champions.
Scotland skipper Sione Tuipulotu’s anguish is clear to see come full-time at Murrayfield
Springbok enforcer Eben Etzebeth stops Duhan van der Merwe from making a break to the line
Head coach Townsend praised his side’s display but too often they fall short when it matters
With just over 15 minutes to play, the game was on a knife-edge. South Africa’s lead was fragile at 19-15. Scotland could smell blood — but didn’t show the necessary killer instinct to catch their prey.
Instead, the Springboks pulled clear to win 32-15, with head coach Rassie Erasmus and captain Eben Etzebeth later admitting that the final scoreline flattered them.
True, but their words would have been of little consolation to anyone in the Scotland camp.
Despite his honesty about Scotland’s lack of cutting edge, Tuipulotu still expressed pride in the team’s performance and the fact they had pushed the back-to-back world champions all the way.
Gregor Townsend claimed it was up there with some of the best displays Scotland have produced throughout his seven years at the helm.
‘That was one of our best ever performances and we’ve got to take that,’ said the Scotland head coach, whose side now face Portugal and Australia in their remaining two autumn fixtures.
The beaten Scots applaud the home fans at full-time after letting a promising display fade
‘That’s the baseline for when Portugal and Australia come, and then there are two home games at the start of the Six Nations with Italy and Ireland first up.
‘I know we’ve also got to take the learnings from how we could have got more points on the board and won this game.
‘But if our players perform like that, with that effort and that physicality, we’re going to have a good season.
‘I think this team has grown mentally. It’s a lot stronger mentally and together at finding solutions and also believing that they can win a game, even if they’re under the cosh.’
Townsend remained largely upbeat despite the defeat. His mood was not as deflated as it had been the last time Scotland suffered another near-miss against one of the game’s elite at Murrayfield.
Two years ago, Scotland came within a whisker of claiming their first-ever victory over New Zealand, only to let it slip away.
Tuipulotu is tackled by South Africa’s Andre Esterhuizen as he attempts to break clear
Scotland scored 23 unanswered points at one stage against the All Blacks and led 23-14 heading into the final 20 minutes, only to throw it away and lose 31-23.
They never had that kind of handsome lead against South Africa on Sunday. Yet, still, the sense of regret at full-time was palpable.
‘I think the All Blacks game was different,’ said Townsend. ‘We were ahead by around 10 points and we’d never beaten them in our history.
‘We knew how big it was and we had a chance to win. I think we had chances to win against South Africa.
‘But, on the back of losing a player (Scott Cummings’ red card) for 20 minutes against the world champions, on the back of having a try disallowed, of conceding an unlucky try, we were still in there pushing.
‘Yes, I would have loved if we’d got to 22-22 and then kicked on and won. But the performance is almost as relevant for me as the result.
Thomas du Toit races for the line before crossing for the visitors’ second try of the evening
‘We were here to win. We get that, and we’re disappointed we didn’t win, but the performance is one of the best we’ve produced. So that’s going to be the basis for us to move forward.’
There was a lot of good in what Scotland did on Sunday. They stood up to the physicality of South Africa. They were outstanding at the breakdown.
They weren’t blown away by the Bomb Squad. The Boks emptied their bench, a collection of monsters entering the field shortly after half-time.
Yet, for those initial 20 minutes after half-time, Scotland were actually the better team. They had South Africa rattled.
They wasted too many good chances, however. Matt Fagerson knocked on when the try-line beckoned. Huw Jones and Ben White both threw wayward passes in key moments when Scotland threatened to break through the Boks’ defensive line.
In the end, despite causing South Africa far more problems than they did in the World Cup last year, Scotland failed to score a single try.
Ben White touches down for Scotland before seeing his score ruled out for a knock-on
Scott Cummings was given a 20-minute red card for this effort at trying to clear out a ruck
So for Townsend to suggest it had been one of their best-ever performances was probably stretching things just a little.
Ultimately, it was another near-miss against one of the game’s true heavyweights. In a way, that feels like it might be one of the defining legacies of the Townsend era.
Scotland ran the All Blacks close in 2017 and couldn’t get it over the line. Likewise in 2022. They have run Ireland close a couple of times. Now South Africa.
For all that Scotland can often play a style of rugby that quickens the pulse, they still lack the cold-blooded killer instinct required to win these tight Test matches against the big guns.
Yes, the red card shown to Scott Cummings in the first half was a nonsense. Townsend was being diplomatic when he described it as ‘harsh’. If ever there was a sport which really didn’t need to over-complicate its disciplinary process and add in another layer of confusion, it’s surely rugby.
The initial yellow card shown to Cummings was upgraded to a 20-minute red thanks to a combination of the TMO and the Bunker Review Official.
Even a yellow felt slightly harsh for what was a legitimate attempt at clearing South Africa lock Franco Mostert out of a ruck.
Speaking on commentary duties on BBC Radio Scotland, former Scotland hooker Fraser Brown summed it up, saying: ‘The officials have lost the plot’.
It wasn’t the defining reason as to why Scotland lost this Test match, though. They lost because of some basic inaccuracies in key moments. They lost because they failed to turn pressure into points.
They lost because of a lack of depth on the bench, with South Africa’s scrum finally grinding them into submission in the final 10 minutes.
They lost because they lacked a killer instinct. For all it had been an outstanding Test match, it all felt predictably familiar in the end.
