The famed Springbok ‘Bomb Squad’ has been replaced by the so-called ‘Nuke Squad’ for today’s Test against Scotland at Murrayfield (6.10pm SA time start) – and it is rather impressive when you see some of the names among the replacement.

Captain Siya Kolisi stands out as one of the seven South African forwards on the bench, along with fit-again lock RG Snyman, flank Pieter-Steph du Toit and electric scrumhalf Grant Williams.

But there is a danger that the Boks might only have a full go at the Scottish outfit once these stalwarts take to the field in the second half, and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick has warned the visitors that it is something they can’t afford if they hope to stretch their unbeaten run to nine against Gregor Townsend’s team.

Scotland have some serious firepower throughout their starting XV, including hard-running centres Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu, as well as the enigmatic Finn Russell at flyhalf and powerful wing Duhan van der Merwe.

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In the pack, Fagerson brothers Matt and Zander will do the hard yards alongside locks Grant Gilchrist and Scott Cummings, while Pierre Schoeman will pull out every trick in the front-row book to contain giant Bok tighthead Thomas du Toit in the scrums.

So, while the Bok tight five have the tools to dominate their opponents, Bok playmakers Jaden Hendrikse, Handré Pollard and Willie le Roux must make the most of any front-foot ball to create gaps in the Scottish defence for the likes of André Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi and Canan Moodie.

Pollard will be in the spotlight on attack after getting the nod at flyhalf ahead of Manie Libbok, who produced a stunning performance in the last Bok Test – the 48-7 win over Argentina that clinched the Rugby Championship title in Mbombela at the end of September.

“The focus is not only on the last 20 or 10 minutes of the game – we want to start well. We want to make sure that we implement our plan and execute it,” Stick said during a press conference in Edinburgh yesterday.

“Scotland have their own plan on the other side, and we know how they play: they want to keep the ball in hand, and they would probably want to speed up things.

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“So, we are not going to wait until the last 10 minutes for us to make a difference in the game. If we can win the game from the first 20 minutes... The team that will start well will probably have a chance to keep that momentum.

“We don’t want to wait for the last minutes of the game. If we go with the mindset that we are not going to pitch up against them, they’ve got Finn Russell on the other side, Duhan, those guys at the back – Tuipulotu – those are world-class players with the X-factor.

“If you switch off against them, they will punish you. They’ve got a coaching staff who are very creative about how they go about with their plans. So, if you are not going to be mentally up for the game, you are going to get punished.”

Although rain was forecast for Edinburgh this morning, it is expected to clear up for the 4.10pm UK time kick-off, which will hopefully allow the Boks to continue with their attacking mindset that they have adopted this year – even with Hendrikse and Pollard as halfbacks who are renowned for their kicking games.

“According to what we’ve got from our management, it’s going to be a beautiful day – it’s going to be a dry day,” Stick said.

“But once again, we had an extra week in Jersey, where we could prepare nicely for the conditions. The first training session was very, very wet and cold, so I don’t think the weather conditions will change how we want to play the game.”

#mzwandile-stick

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