South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber hailed a gritty forward showing as the Springboks ground out an 18-3 victory over Scotland on Sunday in the opening game of the defence of their Rugby World Cup title.

In a tight game at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome, two Manie Libbok penalties to one from Finn Russell made it just 6-3 at half-time.

Momentum swung after Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse crossed for a try apiece between the 47th and 50th minutes, the Boks effectively shutting down any response from the Scots after ensuring dominance on the scoreboard.

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