WXV2: Scotland 31-17 South Africa: Skeldon double in opening victory

Scotland opened their WXV2 campaign with an impressive win over hosts South Africa in Stellenbosch.

Evie Gallagher's try put Bryan Easson's Scotland in front after an early Libbie Janse van Rensburg penalty, before a Lana Skeldon double, either side of Aseza Hele's try for South Africa, gave the Scots a seven-point lead at the break.

Leah Bartlett went over to extend the lead further and Lisa Thomson made sure of victory after Lindelwa Botes had given the Springboks a glimmer of hope.

Scotland take on USA next Friday (13:00 BST), before they face Japan on 27 October (13:00 BST).

South Africa started the brighter, roared on by a passionate home crowd, but their indiscipline allowed Scotland into the contest, gifting them field position that they took full advantage of.

While Scotland struggled at the scrum, they were dominant at the lineout, driving the Springboks back time after time with their efficient and powerful maul.

Scotland's first four tries all came after penalties were kicked into the corner as they found a weakness in the opposition and exploited it ruthlessly.

Easson's side didn't have it all their own way though, and there was a spell in the second half that could easily have seen them buckle.

South Africa showed can score maul tries of their own, cutting the gap through Botes' score. Francesca McGhie then thought she had hit back immediately after a superb initial break by Meryl Smith, but the try was disallowed for a forward pass by Emma Orr.

When that try was chalked off, there was a fear that Scotland's unhappy record of losing tight games might continue, but they showed they have grown, grinding it out when they had to.

South Africa found themselves inside Scotland's 22 with just six minutes left, seeking a converted try that would have levelled the scores, but Scotland marched up the park to score one of their own.

Thomson shrugged off Janse van Rensburg's tackle to race under the posts, quell any nerves, and put the cherry on top of an impressive all-round performance.

Scotland head coach Bryan Easson: "I'm really proud," he said, speaking to World Rugby. "We put in a good, tough performance. We stuck to task, showed good discipline, good composure.

"Our maul looked excellent and put them under a lot of pressure. We'll have tomorrow off, review properly, take the learnings and go into USA nicely prepared."

Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm: "That was incredibly tough," she said, talking to World Rugby.

"We knew the first half in particular was going to be a real battle, and it was.

"That was one of the closest matches we've played against them and they've come a real long way. I'm super proud of the girls for the way we stuck in and got the result. Now we've got to push on.

"We've got players coming on off the bench that are making a massive difference. We had to weather the storm at various points and that comes from the match experience we've had in the last five years."

Scotland: Rollie, Lloyd, Orr, Thomson, McGhie, Nelson, McDonald; Bartlett, Skeldon, Belisle, Wassell, Bonar, Malcolm (capt), McLachlan, Gallagher.

Replacements: Martin, Young, Cockburn, McMillan, Konkel-Roberts, Mattinson, Smith, Musgrove.

South Africa: Qawe, Samboya, Grain, Nyanda, Hess, Janse van Rensburg, Kinsey; Charlie, Gwala, Latsha (capt), Ubisi, Lochner, Dumke, Mcatshulwa, Hele.

Replacements: Botes, Ngxingolo, Schonert, Booi, Jacobs, Gunter, Potgieter, Zulu.

Referee: Natarsha Ganley