Centre Nick De Luca insists a victory over South Africa is not essential for Scotland’s World Cup hopes.
The Scots host the Springboks after losing to New Zealand last Sunday. They need to win, and beat Tonga a week later, to secure a second seed berth for England in three years’ time.
bbc
“There’s no need to win it for the World Cup. We need to win it because collectively we want to win,” De Luca told BBC Scotland. “We think we’re good enough to beat South Africa.”
Saturday’s Test will be the 22nd meeting of South Africa and Scotland since the first in 1906. The Springboks have won 16 and lost five, including the 2010 Murrayfield defeat in torrential rain.
That triumph for Scotland came a week after a stinging defeat to the All Blacks and Edinburgh’s De Luca is eyeing a repeat success.
“We now need to go out there and show everybody we are good enough and it’s going to take an 80-minute performance from all of us,” he said
“If we manage to get top eight for the World Cup seedings that’s great, but in three years’ time the top eight might not be the top eight anymore. We need to go out and concentrate on this game.
“We’re looking for a win to beat this team, not necessarily for the World Cup pools.
“We want to beat everyone that’s put in front of us and if you want to do well in the World Cup you’ll have to beat a top seeded side.
“Obviously it makes it easier if you’re one of the top seeded sides but last World Cup we were up against two better seeds [England and Argentina] and we should have won both those games so if we’re in that situation again we’ll back ourselves and hopefully make it come good.”
De Luca will be joined in the starting XV by Edinburgh team-mate David Denton, who replaces the injured Ross Rennie.
“It’s a great feeling to be back,” explained the Zimbabwe-born number eight. “It was tough for me to take the fact I wasn’t starting [against New Zealand] but I feel I worked hard and played well when I came on.
“South Africa are a really physical team and they play good rugby.
“It will be aggressive and I’m relishing the opportunity to test myself against the best exponents of the style I like to play.
“I’m looking to be physical, aggressive and carry the ball well.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwKEdFoUB0o
61 @ Puma:
A great one Puma
Another chilled out, folksy kind of music from Scotland from Roddy Woomble who I think has a great voice seen him live:
57 @ Bullscot:
Never heard of them, but yes, I like it a lot. Enjoyed the pipes in it as well.
Another Roddy Woomble song:
and one of Roddy with his mates Kris Drever and John McCusker, seen Kris live a really funny guy:
57 @ Bullscot:
Never heard of them, but yes, I like it. Enjoyed the pipes in it as well.
64 @ Puma:
Thats good man, they don’t sound as good in the clips I put up as they do live think they are more a must see live band than a studio recording band.
Right am probably not going to get one here again till later in the weekend, heading down to watch the Boks tomorrow can’t wait
Hoping for a good game GO SPRINGBOKS GO SCOTLAND!!! Enjoy the weekend’s rugby folks 
63 @ Bullscot:
Never heard of him, different, not my type of music but nice to sit back and listen too.
@ Bullscot:
Enjoy bro!!!
68 @ Bullscot:
Enjoy the game tomorrow mate. Think it will be a cracker if the weather is dry like they say it will be.
70 @ Pietman:
When you coming back to the Cape Piet?
@ Puma:
BTW, those two Kiwis who played for were the Leslie brothers, John centre and Andrew (I think) at flank, Andy Leslie’s sons (captained the AB’s to SA in the 70’s.
70 @ Pietman:
Will you get the game there tomorrow Piet? Really looking forward to the game, hoping we can allow our backs to come more into the game tomorrow.
Also another game I am really looking forward too is the France/Arg game, think that will be a cracker.
73 @ Pietman:
Shot Piet, I remember now.
@ Puma:
@72 Will be landing in CT 3 weeks from today exactly!
But I will be back for short spells in the new year still,just to sober up (!), cannot afford to sit completely idle back home yet!.
(You mentioned the weak rand earlier. Looks like we are headed for R10 @ $ by March or so….all the more reason to extend my sojourn over here.)
@ Puma:
@74
Yes, I have all the games on OSN Sport (directly from SuperSport in SA)…..first thing I bought was one moosa satellite dish, you can see it on my roof from miles away!
76 @ Pietman:
Will feel great to come back for a bit here Piet. I know over there it is tough sometimes. Such a different life over there.
Yip the Rand is going to be useless if it keeps going this way. Was R15 to the Pound today. Think it will get worse Piet.
77 @ Pietman:
Good at least you set up. When I was there we hardly got anything back then. About 5 channels that was it. Was truly restricted back then. My mate is in Qutar and he also gets Super Sport, so gets all the rugby. He too is coming back in 6 weeks time.
@ Puma:
You can read about Andy Leslie’s team here on RT Sept 2010 archive, McLook posted an article about that 1976 tour, great stuff, check it out!
It is all here on RT, the site of rugby talkers!!!!
This isn’t Scottish, more Irish but a great song anyway, love it when I’m at Gym doing a heavy set.
80 @ Pietman:
Will do Piet
@ Puma:
Aagh Puma, you know, sometimes I feel like packing up, I get really fed-up occasionally with the lifestyle here.
But all in all the Saudi’s are an ok people, I really get along fine with the ones I deal with daily.
And I am contracted to a great company who allows me to work as and when I want, for financial benefits beyond anything I can earn back in SA.
So, wife and I decided to hang on for a while and travel a bit in between,with me spending 6 months back home and the rest here, for the time being. (Spoke to her 5 minutes ago, incidently, she has just collected the car from Baron’s service centre earlier and is on her way to sister in Durbanviile…the old gal is having a ball in the Cape, as always!)
81 @ Stormersboy:
Yip good stuff bro
@ Stormersboy:
‘…when in the gym…doing a heavy set’ nogal. No man, you sound like my son now, eishh, you yuppies from the Ville!
Put some pub music on rather….that’s where I do my heavy sets mostly, arm-wrestling with huge pints of draught
@ Sharks_forever:
That’s more like it!!!!
83 Piet,
If you can have the hours you want Piet it is not too bad. Don’t rush to come back, if you come back too soon, sometimes you will wish you stuck it out. My hours were long over there, started work at 7am knocked off at 5pm then in that traffic drove me crazy. Though looking back pleased I experienced it. The heat was terrible……hahahaha. Making the homemade brew too was okay always just wished we could just go by a six pack down the road, or a good wine, but I got used to it.
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