South Africa, hanging on for a half before taking off, got their title defense off to a good start on Sunday in Marseille with a victory against Scotland (18-3) in the first shock of the “group of death”. » of the 2023 World Cup. This time, the Springboks got off on the right foot. Between their famous defeat against Japan (34-32) in 2015 and that against New Zealand (23-13) four years ago, they had not started a World Cup with a success since 2011. An eternity for the three-time world champions, living up to their rank and ambitions in what they had heralded as “the most important game” of their tournament.