South Africa skipper Babalwa Latsha rued “a tough pill to swallow” after her side were beaten 31-17 by Scotland in their WXV 2 opener.

Four of Scotland’s five tries came from rolling mauls in in Stellenbosch, Lana Skeldon scoring twice in between tries from Evie Gallagher and Leah Bartlett before Lisa Thomson sealed the outcome late on as Bryan Easson’s side made a successful start to the inaugural competition.

Aseza Hele and Roseline Botes responded for the Springbok Women but they were frustrated by stubborn Scottish defence and will now look to bounce back against Italy next Friday.

“It’s a tough one to swallow,” Latsha said. “We played with incredible heart but we must now keep our heads up for the rest of the competition.

“The attitude and the energy was always there but in some stages of the game we let ourselves down. What’s key now for us is to review and see where we can improve again."

South Africa started strongly on home soil and were first on the board, Libbie Janse van Rensburg slotting over a routine penalty, but Scotland’s forwards soon made their presence felt.

A superb break from Mairi McDonald laid the foundations for their first try, the scrum-half gaining 50 metres following a neat dummy.

Scotland were held up short of the line but made the most of their penalty advantage, No 8 Evie Gallagher diving over following a rolling maul for a try which went unconverted.

South Africa hit straight back through Gallagher’s opposite number Aseza Hele, who spun away from a couple of attempted tackles to cross under the posts.

Van Rensburg’s conversion put the hosts 10-5 in front but Scotland finished the half strongly with Skeldon to the fore, the hooker crossing twice as Easson’s side again proved lethal at the lineout.

Leah Bartlett was next to profit in similar fashion after the break, securing the bonus point on 55 minutes with Meryl Smith adding the extras.

The Springbok Women gave their opponents a taste of their own medicine as the ‘bomb squad’ had an impact off the bench, replacement prop Roseline Botes crossing and Van Rensburg converting to reduce the deficit to 24-17.

Francesca McGhie thought she had restored Scotland’s cushion within two minutes but her score, set up by Smith’s fine break, was ruled out on review following a forward pass.

There was no denying Thomson when the centre burst through a gap late on, however, as Scotland put the seal on an excellent victory.

Victorious skipper Malcolm had kind words for the Springbok Women, saying: “South Africa came out fighting, we knew the first half would be a real battle and it absolutely was.

“They were in that game right until the end, the scoreboard doesn’t tell the full story and it was one of the closest matches we’ve played with them.

“They have come a really long way and I’m proud of how we stuck in and got the result.”