Scotland 3 South Africa 27: Second-favourites for the World Cup South Africa laid down a marker ahead of the their Pool A clash with England by running in three tries on their way to a 27-3 win over Scotland at Murrayfield.

After a patchy performance in midweek against Connacht at the Sportsgrounds, Jake White's side needed to make amends and they did that against a dogged but ultimately one-dimensional Scottish side.

Chris Paterson kicked the home side into an early lead but the 'Boks replied with three first-half tries from Bryan Habana, Jaque Fourie and Fourie du Preez to effectively end the game as a contest.

Frank Hadden's side desperately tried to find a way back into the match but struggled to make a dent in the Springboks' watertight defence.

A plethora of substitutions by South Africa predictably affected the flow of the game with a charge down the touchline by Ally Hogg offering a rare glimpse of quality rugby.

The greater ball-handling skills of Hogg certainly added a new dimension after he came on for Dave Callum and in the last quarter he played himself into the backrow alongside White and Simon Taylor, who was ruled out of the match with a facial injury.

The margin of victory and the ease with which the visitors blunted the Scotland  attack were in stark contrast to the success and level of performance against Ireland a fortnight ago and give Hadden plenty to ponder ahead of the World Cup.