Scotland coach Frank Hadden was "gutted" after his side missed a glorious opportunity to beat world champions South Africa.
"The game was there for the taking," Scotland coach says
Scotland coach Frank Hadden was understandably "gutted" after his side missed a glorious opportunity to score a rare win against South Africa, Saturday's 14-10 defeat also seeing them lose their place among Test rugby's elite.
Hadden's side went 10-0 ahead at Murrayfield but the Springboks rallied in the second half, when they scored 14 unanswered points.
The loss did more than damage pride, however, with Scotland also losing their status as second seeds ahead of the 2011 World Cup - therefore facing the increased prospect of a tough pool in the competition.
"It's difficult to explain how gutted we are at that, simply because of the amount of work that's gone in," said Hadden, whose side were also beaten 32-6 by the All Blacks last Saturday.
"I'm not just talking about last week, I'm talking behind the scenes, I'm talking over the years, the battle we've had since professionalism began to cling on to our place at the top table with our resources.
"It's a massive battle that we've faced over a last few years and I felt that, slowly but surely, we had been winning that battle."
Competitve
Pointing out once again the lack of time Scotland have had to prepare for the autumn internationals, Hadden said his side nevertheless should really have
saved their skins on Saturday.
He continued: "We knew that we were going to be more competitive because we have another week under our belts in terms of players getting familiar with each other again.
"But, ultimately, the game was there for the taking."
Scotland looked like they could do just that when Nathan Hines scored their first home try for 14 months less than two minutes before half-time.
But South Africa came back in the third quarter of the game, with substitute Jaque Fourie scoring their only try of the match.
Ruan Pienaar also kicked three penalties for the tourists, while Phil Godman got Scotland's other points with the boot.
Hadden also expressed his disappointment at the number of penalties Scotland conceded after the break and questioned referee Dave Pearson's interpretation of recent law changes.
However, he refused to blame the official for the defeat.
He said: "At the moment we're just working out where Dave's going with his game."
Hadden also revealed the extent of Scotland's injury concerns, with Chris Paterson - whose goalkicking was badly missed as Scotland wasted three straightforward penalties - suffering a suspected fractured cheekbone.
Also hurt were Thom Evans (dead leg), Rory Lamont (dead leg, neck and shoulder), Euan Murray (cheek), Scott Gray (medial ligaments), Allister Hogg and Godman (stitches), Jason White (neck), John Barclay (shoulder), Hugo Southwell (shin) and Dan Parks (back).
Worthy winners
Despite Scotland's three penalty misses and also having to watch his side cling on at the end, South Africa head coach Peter de Villiers insisted his men were worthy winners.
He said: "Definitely, the scoreboard says it. We showed strong character to come back.
"It wasn't pretty but it was just routine."
But it was a second unconvincing win for the stuttering Springboks on their European tour following last week's 20-15 victory in Wales.
However, De Villiers believes his side are not far from being at their best.
"We are a pretty good all-round team," he said.
"We weren't allowed to play with the ball in hand and if we can get that right, I think you'll see a well-balanced side: attack, pretty good and defence, outstanding."
De Villiers removed Bryan Habana early in the second half, with replacement Fourie making an immediate try-scoring impact.
The coach said of the out-of-sorts winger: "He took a bump early in the second half.
"All great players do have some times when their form goes.
"We can't leave our individual stars to survive on their own."
South Africa lost hooker Bismarck du Plessis to a hamstring strain early in the game and he will be assessed over the next 48 hours.
