Springboks lock Juandre Kruger expecting forwards battle at Murrayfield

Juandre Kruger in action against Ireland last week

Lock Juandre Kruger is braced for a bruising battle of the packs in South Africa's clash with Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The Springboks arrived in Edinburgh on the back of a 16-12 win over Ireland, and hoping to claim revenge for defeat on their last trip to Murrayfield.

Kruger, who will come up against his former Northampton team-mate Euan Murray, said: "We'll make sure we'll prepare well for a very forwards-orientated game.

"They're a good forwards-orientated team. They've got a lot of good backs creating a lot of things. They manage to score some tries as well.

"We focus a lot on our set-pieces, scrum re-starts, lineouts. For every team that's a goal to do well there because that sets a base for the game and for the backs to get into the game."

Murray missed last week's heavy defeat to New Zealand as he does not play on Sundays for religious reasons.

And Bulls second row Kruger said he will provide serious ballast to the Scottish pack: "He's a world-class player. He's definitely one of the top scrummagers in world rugby, everyone knows that."

Kruger said the Springboks need to step up their performance levels from their Dublin victory: "There were a few areas we weren't good at in the first half. We changed things in the second half and it worked out well.

"We'll definitely look at playing a smarter game first half and not chasing the game second half. That was our first away win and it's important for us as a team to be near the top of the world rankings."