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Scotland face Russia on Wednesday where a bonus point victory is a must if Gregor Townsend’s men are to remain in contention for a quarter-final place at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
The match will take place at the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, the scene of Japan’s stunning upset against Ireland. The weather is expected to be warm and clear with temperatures remaining at a bearable 25 degrees.
The Bears are yet to earn a single point at the tournament, and this will be their last chance to do so. After this match, Scotland face a difficult test against host nation Japan on Sunday, which is also a must-win fixture for them to secure progression.
The top two of Pool A will face either the winner or runner up of Pool B, which is likely to be either New Zealand or South Africa.
Key Talking Points: Scotland
- The importance of the bonus point win cannot be overstated for the Dark Blues. Japan have won all their Pool games and are more than capable of denying Scotland the necessary point they badly need.
- Scotland are set to make fourteen changes to the starting XV that faced Samoa. Only Darcy Graham will remain in the squad.
- Scotland have never faced Russia before in competitive competition. They are expected to secure a comfortable win here at Japan 2019.
Key Talking Points: Russia
- Russia have scored only one try in the tournament so far. This was in their opening match against Japan and came from Kiril Golosnitskiy.
- Russia have played a physical but sometimes clumsy game at Japan 2019. During their previous match against Ireland, they tallied a total of ten penalties conceded and two yellow cards.
- Despite being physical, the Bears have been defensively slack. Against the weaker opposition of Japan and Samoa, they managed 35 tackles and missed 28 equaling a dire 56% completion rate.
