Huw Jones backs Scotland to 'beat anyone' in 'tough' World Cup pool

Scotland centre Huw Jones has shrugged off the might of Ireland and South Africa and backed his side to impress in the so-called Rugby World Cup pool of death.

Due to the group draw having taken place in 2020, three impressive outfits have been thrown together in what promises to be an intriguing series of matches.

Ireland are currently ranked number one in the world while South Africa sit fourth and Scotland fifth, making for quite the games between the three nations.

Underdog status no problem

The Irish and Springboks are viewed as the favourites to progress to the knockout stages but following an excellent year, Scotland shouldn’t be underestimated.

“It is a tough pool, and if people see us as underdogs we don’t mind that,” said Jones following back-to-back strong showings against host nation France. “We know how good we can be and a game like Saturday’s, against a side ranked second in the world, gives us a lot of confidence.

“We think we can beat anyone, it’s just about putting together a complete performance. We’re not fazed by the group, we’re really looking forward to it, but we know we need to be at our best to beat the top teams and get out of our pool.”

Scotland were edged 30-27 by Les Bleus in Saint-Etienne last weekend, this after they beat them at Murrayfield a fortnight ago, which gives Jones confidence.

“We weren’t really happy with our first-half performance at home to France but we were a lot better in the second half,” said Jones when discussing the games.

“Then in Saint-Etienne, against France’s strongest team, it was a more complete performance in terms of the full 80 minutes, although it’s still about those small margins for us.

“We feel like we’re there and thereabouts but there’s also stuff we can work on. I think Saturday will spur us on to improve even more.

“We always want to win but I think a narrow loss like that away to one of the top teams in the world is good for the confidence. We know we can go toe-to-toe with the best and we feel we can win those games.

“We take confidence from that but we also know there are areas we have to tighten up in and not make a couple of silly errors that can cost us close games.

“Going out to France twice this year and running them so close in those games gives us real confidence, especially as the World Cup is out there.”

Scotland “feeling good”

Last up for Scotland in terms of Rugby World Cup warm-up games is a home clash with Georgia a week on Saturday, with Jones happy with his side’s preparations.

“We’re feeling good,” he said. “It’s been a tough pre-season.

“The fitness is there and the game fitness is coming along. We’ve got one more game against Georgia to really sharpen up and then we’re into the tournament.

“I think we’re in a really good place but we want to win that game against Georgia and put in a really good performance, which will give us confidence going into that first game against South Africa.”