Scotland “dodged a banana skin” at Elland Road against the USA, stressed head coach Vern Cotter after his side moved north to Newcastle with a perfect 10 points from 10 start to their Rugby World Cup campaign.
The Scots opened out for five tries in the second half for the second game in a row as they defeated the US 39-16, leaving them and Ireland as the only teams in the tournament with maximum points from their first two games.
Yet it required some harsh words amongst themselves from the players at half-time when trailing 13-6 to a slicker and more incisive USA team before the Scots opened out.
“There were a few things to juggle into this game,” said the head coach, referring to the short four day gap from the opening win over Japan.
“We dodged a banana skin today, but we’ve got through these opening two matches now. We’ve played some reasonable rugby, adapted to difficult situations.
“Now we have South Africa and Samoa. It was a physical game today, but we know these next games will be even more physical.
“But guys can take a bit of self-belief into next two games, and we need to grow that.”
The coach didn’t have to read the riot act to his players, he revealed, because they’d started without him.
“When I got there they were all talking about it themselves and what we had to do,” he said. “It was just applying a couple of things that would give us access to the game.”
The team needed rest now before the challenge of the resurgent Springboks, who rebounded from their Japan humiliation to crush Samoa on Saturday.
“We will definitely need to freshen up,” he added. “South Africa is six days’ time, it doesn’t get any easier, does it?”
Meanwhile a grateful Tom Visser still believes Stuart Hogg owes him a try after a loose low pass in the first half left the prolific wing unable to take a glaring chance, even though in the second half he was put in for Scotland’s first score by the full-back.
“He owed me one for the first half,” he said. “It’ll be coffee and cake from him this week.
“It was something we knew they did defensively, the wing spot-blitzes and he got Peter Horne pretty good in the first half, but next time Hoggy just did the magic and I stayed wide and was able to finish.
“We knew we could break them, we knew we have the players who could.
“There’s been a huge change for us in converting chances. Unbelievable talent has come in, like Sean from the southern hemisphere, both Mark Bennett and Peter Horne are great with ball in hand and Matty Scott knows how to get over the try line, he went route one today.
“We’ve got threat all over the backline now and the forwards too, big Willy Nel loves a try! It’s all over the pitch.”
Hogg won the man of the match award and his searing break in the first half should have brought a try for Visser, he acknowledged.
“I said to the boys and (backs coach) Duncan Hodge at the break that I’d put that right,” he said of the wayward pass. “I don’t usually speak at half time like that, I like to be left alone generally. But I put Viss away in the second half and that made up for it, that’s when we really got going.”
Hogg knows it wasn’t perfect but he thinks Scotland are due credit for their start to the tournament.
“For the second game in a row we scored five tries and you can’t ask for much more than that. It says a lot about the character of this team because we came into this on the back of a four-day turnaround.
“We know what we’re capable of and I think a lot more people realise that now too. We’d have bitten your hand off for this start, we’re top of the Pool with ten points.
“But we’ll stay grounded and move on to the next game against South Africa.”
The Scots have two injury concerns with Grant Gilchrist forced off after just 18 minutes with a thigh injury, and Finn Russell coming off the with an ankle problem, although the lock’s problem appears more serious.
The team’s medical staff will assess the injuries over the next 24 hours before any decision is made on their involvement against the Springboks next Saturday.