Scotland injury update: ‘Not looking good’ for one forward as another is praised for outstanding effort

The Springboks eventually won 32-15, outscoring the Scots by four tries to nil, but that was a harsh reflection on the hosts who matched the world champions for long periods at Murrayfield but were unable to take their chances.

Inevitably, there were casualties and Jack Dempsey, the Scotland No 8, came off near the end with a shoulder injury which will almost certainly rule him out of this Saturday’s match with Portugal. He may also struggle to recover in time for the final Autumn Nations Series fixture, against Australia, on November 24.

“Jack got a real bang on his shoulder,” said Gregor Townsend, the Scotland coach. “It’s not looking good at the moment but we need to see what happens with the scan. But I don’t think he’ll be available in the next few days or next week. But let’s hope it’s not too serious.”

Max Williamson, who replaced Scott Cummings after the latter was shown a 20-minute red card in the first half against South Africa, also suffered shoulder injuries. The 22-year-old Glasgow player was praised by Townsend for playing through the pain. The coach also revealed that Williamson had been ill on the eve of the game.

“He only did a little part of the team run,” said Townsend. “Didn’t think he'd make it, and then he’s on in the first half and he was outstanding. Outstanding in terms of the effort he put in.

“The collective effort in the lineout…. I thought our lineout defence, both winning the ball but also stopping their maul, was superb. And Max, at 22 years old, is a big part of that, producing jackals and carrying well.

“On top of that, he did both his shoulders in the game. I think he's OK. They were ‘stingers’ but at one stage it looked like he was coming off and he showed his toughness to stay on. Obviously, we didn’t have any [other] second rows [on the bench] to come on. So I’m really proud of his effort and the effort of the forward pack.”

Scotland are expected to select a much-changed squad to face Portugal. Johnny Matthews, the Glasgow Warriors hooker, has been training with Scotland and could be involved.