Leading Scotland to Springboks win a career high for Rory Lawson

Lawson was handed the captaincy in the autumn of 2010 by then-coach Andy Robinson, but missed the autumn opener as Scotland were bulldozed by a rampant All Blacks side 49-3 at Murrayfield. 

After overcoming a broken bone in his hand, Lawson was passed fit to lead his country for the first time against a South Africa team that arrived in Edinburgh having won the 2007 Rugby World Cup and beaten the British and Irish Lions in 2009. 

The South Africa team that faced Scotland at Murrayfield 14 years ago (Image: SNS) They were a who's who of international rugby. Their team included Tendai 'The Beast' Mtawarira, plus brothers Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis; Bakkies Botha and captain Victor Matfield in the second row; kicking machine Morne Steyn at fly-half and his name-sake Francois in the midfield alongside Jean de Villiers. 

"The detail of the game is patchy until the final three or four minutes," Lawson told Scotland Rugby News. 

"I remember the physicality, and the idea of being in a fight, but on a personal level, my memories are about getting into the jersey to play the game because I was recovering with a broken hand.

"I missed the New Zealand game and I wasn't even sure if the bone was fully healed, but I got through the week. A lot of what we did was about rebuilding guys emotionally because we'd been hammered by the All Blacks, so it was just about getting guys back to where they needed to be."

Rory Lawson led Scotland to their win over the world champions (Image: SNS) Lawson, who stands about 5ft 8in, does remember after delivering his pre-match message to the team, preparing to lead Scotland out at Murrayfield for the first time, only to be dwarfed by opposition captain Matfield, who is fully a foot taller. 

"I remember walking out of the changing room and thinking 'don't look left' and there were these Springbok behemoths, but when we ran out and saw the weather conditions, I knew they wouldn't fancy it."

The Springboks went into the lead early through Morne Steyn's boot, before Dan Parks kicked the home side ahead with three first-half penalties and a drop-goal. 

Another penalty from Steyn levelled the scores early in the second half, but three more penalties from Parks guided Scotland into a handsome lead, enough to mean that Willem Alberts' late try was scant consolation.

Lawson recalled: "We managed to chip away at the scoreboard and then the final few minutes were about scoreboard preservation.

"I remember the ref saying time was up and belting the ball into the west stand.

"There was an element of disbelief and pure unadulterated joy."

Dan Parks (right) celebrates with Scotland debutant Joe Ansbro after the win over South Africa (Image: SNS) In all, Lawson won 31 caps for Scotland and played at two World Cups, but he  said beating the star-studded Springboks was his best moment in a Scotland jersey. 

"It's right at the top of the list for me, no question at all," he said. 

"They were a champion team, they'd beaten England the week before and nobody gave us a chance.

"Sometimes you've got to be able to create belief in the people you are alongside that you can achieve something they maybe don't believe is possible themselves. 

"It was the moment of my career, particularly because it was the first time I had captained the team."

If Scotland are to end a 14-year wait for a win against another champion South African side on Sunday, Lawson gave an insight into what Gregor Townsend's side must do. 

He said: "They are wired the same as any other human beings. They will have doubts, and while physical pressure is difficult to build on them because they are usually so dominant, if you can build scoreboard pressure, they will have doubts. 

"But Rassie [Erasmus] is one of the great minds in our sport and will give a huge amount of respect to Scotland.

"For every one of the 23 guys who are selected, they must be fully engaged in every moment and not thinking about anything beyond that moment."

Lawson, who is part of the TNT Sports commentary team for Sunday's game, also believes Gregor Townsend should make a change at scrum-half for the visit of the Springboks. 

Rory Lawson believes Ben White should start at scrum-half on Sunday (Image: SNS Group) He said: "For me, Ben White is the best option at scrum-half for this game. His kicking game is good and he's got a calmness to him that I've really admired since he's come into the Scotland team. 

"He's able to share a lot of the responsibility with Finn, and he's also a threat himself with the ball. 

"He is also used to playing in France where there is a more physically focused game and lots of South Africans in that league. He'll be well suited for it."