Scotland stand off Ruaridh Jackson knows his team will have to hit the ground running against South Africa at Murrayfield on Sunday after getting a fright against Japan in their first autumn Test.
Scotland struggled to get into a rhythm for much of the first half against Japan on a heavy Murrayfield pitch which has been hit by a worm infestation. Their 11-3 half-time lead was cut to one point within three minutes after Kenki Fukuoka crossed for the first of two tries.
Scotland responded almost immediately both times before taking advantage of two yellow cards in the final quarter to grab three more tries and claim a 42-17 victory. Aberdonian Jackson knows they will have to step up a gear from the start against the Springboks, who overturned an 11-point deficit to beat Scotland 30-17 in June.
“It was a solid start,” said the Glasgow number 10. “It was our first game, so there is maybe going to be a bit of rust. They came at us pretty hard, especially at the start of the second half, but once we ironed out a few problems we played well and scored some great tries.
“To get six tries is a great achievement but there are definitely things we need to work on. We gave them two relatively soft tries. We reacted well from that but we want to play that rugby from the off and not wait until the final half-hour.
“Perhaps we came out flat at the start of the second half and they gave us a shock. We reacted well to it but we need to be at a higher level.
“It was always going to be tough and they are a really good team. They play some good rugby and they put us under a lot of pressure. For long periods our defence held out but the two soft tries were a shame. But it puts us in a good position. There are things to work on and there are positives, so we are in a pretty good place.”
Two major positives for head coach Scott Johnson were the home debut performances of Jackson’s Glasgow team-mates Tim Swinson and Tommy Seymour.
Seymour claimed two tries, both set up by Jackson, and lock Swinson was named man of the match.
“They came in during the summer and they have been performing really well for Glasgow as well.” added Jackson.
“It was nice for Tommy to get two tries, it’s always a winger’s favourite thing to do. Tim was pretty monumental up front, putting in big hits and a great shift, so it was great for him to get merited with man of the match.”
Jackson dismissed concerns over the pitch ahead of Sunday’s Test.
“It’s a pretty heavy pitch and it’s cutting up a fair bit,” he said. “I feel more sorry for the forwards scrummaging than the backs, although it was a bit tricky for side-stepping.
“It’s the same for both teams though and we just need to deal with it.”