The Lions blueprint will give Scotland and Gregor Townsend the key to a massive shock against reigning world champions South Africa… Be brave and be quick!

• Ali Price beat the Boks with the Lions – now he wants the same with Scotland
• He says that to beat them, ‘you have to play your own rugby’ and ‘back yourself’
• Price has had a challenging year but is relishing the chance to put that right
• Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results

How do you beat South Africa? It is a question which will have been at the forefront of Gregor Townsend’s thoughts as he prepared for Scotland’s World Cup opener against the Springboks on Sunday.

Scotland have only beaten South Africa once in 15 meetings over the past 20 years, a 21-17 victory in the Autumn Tests in 2010.

It is not a fixture which has been particularly fruitful. It also looks all the more daunting given South Africa’s form heading into the tournament.

Over the past couple of weeks, the reigning world champions have inflicted record defeats on both Wales and New Zealand.

Their 35-7 demolition job on the All Blacks at Twickenham two weeks ago, in particular, sent out an ominous warning to the rest of the rugby world.

Ali Price was one of the standout performers when the British and Irish Lions beat South Africa in the first test of their 2021 tour – though they lost the series 2-1

Now Scotland are preparing to take on the world champions in Marseille, and Price hopes a Lions blueprint can inspire them  

But when it comes to beating the Boks, Ali Price is one of the very few Scotland players who can speak from a position of knowledge and experience. Price was one of the standout performers for the British and Irish Lions on their tour of South Africa two years ago in the summer of 2021.

The Scotland and Glasgow Warriors scrum-half started two of the three Tests for the Lions, as well as coming off the bench in the other. Price was a key player as the Lions won 22-17 in the first Test, albeit the Springboks fought back to win the series 2-1.

Price is knowledgeable and articulate when asked about how Scotland can hurt South Africa. As far as he is concerned, trying to outmuscle the Boks up front and beat them at their own game would be a fool’s errand. Scotland must stay true to their own identity.

‘I know the South African players, I know what they’re all about and I know how they want to play the game,’ says Price. ‘Going back to the Lions tour a couple of years ago, we analysed them a lot and we learned how to play against them.

‘I watched the game a couple of months ago where they lost to New Zealand in the Rugby Championship. The All Blacks had a clear gameplan. They were very strong in the air, the kick battle became a big weapon. That’s similar to what we did with the Lions when we had success against South Africa.

‘You have to win that aerial kick battle initially, but then also be brave and play some rugby. Ultimately, you have to try and move South Africa around.

‘You have to play your own rugby. You can’t go into a Test match against South Africa and just get drawn into an arm wrestle up front. Realistically, that probably won’t go well for you.

‘Nobody does what South Africa do quite as well as them. Nobody will beat them at their own game. You have to back yourself and play your own game.

Gregor Townsend leads Scotland into the World Cup as they face the Springboks, Tonga, Romania, and Ireland in Pool B

‘Yeah, of course, you need to match them physically and be ready for that challenge. But you also have to play your own style of rugby.’

Although they won the first Test two years ago, the Lions grew into the series and arguably played some of their best rugby.

Dan Biggar started all three Tests, but it was Finn Russell who really sparked them into life when he came off the bench early in the final game. South Africa eventually triumphed 19-16 to win the series 2-1, but it left a lasting impact on Price about how to play them.

‘We saw it when Finn came off the bench in the third Test,’ says the 30-year-old scrum-half, who remains a valuable asset to Townsend’s side despite the fact he is no longer a guaranteed starter.

‘That’s when we really started to open up and, although we only lost by a few points in the end, most people agreed we played some of our best rugby in that third Test.

‘We wanted to play with a lot of width and really move South Africa around. That is something that can definitely cause them problems.

‘The power game is their strength. Our strength is moving the ball with speed and accuracy and getting our strike runners in the backline involved.

‘You don’t go into a game against South Africa looking to copy their strengths. Match them physically, yes, but don’t try to copy them. We’ve also got Finn Russell. He’ll do what he does best.’

Price, pictured playing for the Lions against South Africa, said Scotland can’t be drawn into an ‘arm wrestle’ up front

By his own admission, Price is heading into the World Cup on the back of a difficult season for both club and country.

He lost his place to George Horne at Glasgow when Franco Smith took charge and likewise to Ben White with the national team. But he is still one of Scotland’s most experienced players. He will have a key role to play throughout the World Cup, whether starting or from the bench.

He is confident that he can fight his way back into Townsend’s plans and points to the fact that he fought back from a difficult start to the 2018 Six Nations.

Scotland were thrashed 34-7 against Wales in Cardiff and Price knew himself that he did not have a good game.

He then struggled for form and fitness at Glasgow, before fighting back and making the No9 jersey his own following the retirement of Greig Laidlaw in 2019. ‘In the last World Cup, I broke my foot in the first game against Ireland,’ says Price. ‘To then miss the rest of the tournament was just massively disappointing.

‘It’ll be great to go back to a World Cup and have another crack at it. Hopefully I can be involved a bit more and the tournament lasts a bit longer for me.

‘The past year has been pretty challenging. There’s been some frustration at times with my own form, with game time. But you get to an age and a stage of your career where you learn to deal with it.

Price has had a difficult year for club and country but suggested that he has reached an age that has allowed him to learn to ‘deal with it’ 

‘Ultimately, you’re a professional athlete. There are going to be times when you go through rough patches. I’ve had it previously in my career around 2018 when I was breaking into the national team and then had a couple of performances where I knew I could have done better.

‘Games where it just didn’t go right for me. I felt my form slide and had to build myself back up from there, which I was able to do.

‘I don’t feel like my form has slid now as much as it did back then. Yeah, last season was pretty frustrating for me in terms of game time, but you also have to credit George.

‘He came in to the team and played really well. So there were a combination of factors. But I definitely feel like I still have a lot to offer.’

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