EMBARRASSED by Japan; emphatic against Samoa. This has been a World Cup of contrasts for South Africa, but when they return to action against Scotland this evening, back rower Duane Vermeulen is confident the Springboks’ resurgent feel-good factor will remain intact.

Having suffered arguably the biggest shock in rugby history when they fluffed their opening-game lines against the Japanese, South Africa’s man-mountains answered at least some of their critics with a much more accomplished display in last weekend’s 46-6 thrashing of a previously well-respected Samoa team.

Their Pool B fate continues to hang by a thread though, and while a bonus-point defeat on Tyneside could still leave them with an outside chance of making the quarter-finals, realistically Heyneke Meyer’s team head into their game with Scotland knowing a win is essential if they are not to suffer a humiliating exit.

They have brought a huge amount of pressure on themselves, but while there is still very little margin for error despite the Samoa success, the mood within the Springbok camp is markedly different in the wake of last weekend’s win.

“It’s been a great week for us,” said Vermeulen. “After our first week, with the loss against Japan, things weren’t great. It wasn’t a great vibe, and it was really quiet within the camp.

“But I think after Samoa, we turned it around. We haven’t achieved anything yet, and we’re still in the same position we were a week before. We still need to grind things out, and this is just the next step, but the vibe has definitely been a lot better.

“The main focus is still on how we want to play, and what we want to achieve, and it’s been great to be a part of the atmosphere this week.”

A great deal of soul-searching followed the defeat to Japan, and while last weekend’s win against Samoa provided a timely boost, it came at a cost as skipper Jean de Villiers suffered a broken jaw that not only ended his tournament, but which also forced the 34-year-old to announce his international retirement.

Stung by criticism from both the South African press and the Springbok fans, Meyer held a series of frank discussions with his players in which they discussed the best way to get their World Cup campaign back on track.

The consensus was to go back to basics, which when it comes to South Africa, means a reliance on a hugely physical pack and an attempt to exploit the explosive attacking potential posed by an athletic back three.

“The most important thing is getting the basics right,” said Vermeulen. “We’ve been trying to get back to the way we as South Africans play. That’s front-foot ball, so you need your forwards to dominate. Then, you need your backs to get good ball on the front foot, and to execute those good balls into tries.

“It’s a combination of things, because it’s that, with a perfect kicking game, and we also know we need to concede less penalties than we have in our previous games.

“It’s been a problem for the Springboks to win back-to-back in the last few years, but hopefully we can change that.”