Riding high at fifth in the world rankings after a stunning opening Nations Championship win in Argentina, Scotland are feeling pretty good about themselves, but what comes next will provide a true reflection of where they stand in the global game.

A showdown with back-to-back world champions South Africa in Pretoria is the next assignment and the type of challenge that Scotland were all too rarely afforded before World Rugby’s shake-up of the summer schedule.

While England, Ireland and Wales regularly slugged it out with the southern hemisphere heavyweights over two and three-match Test series, the Scots were left to find whatever dance partners they could and more often than not ended up embarking on “development tours” to lower-end Tier One or Tier Two nations.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend pointed out: “From our perspective, no-one in our group has played South Africa for Scotland away from home.”

Jonny Gray, the veteran lock who started against the Pumas last weekend, did in fact make a late cameo off the bench on Scotland’s last match away to South Africa, a 55-6 drubbing in Port Elizabeth back in 2014.

The match was also notable for the debut of Handre Pollard, the two-times World Cup winner who will earn his 86th South Africa cap at fly-half on Saturday.

“It’s a unique opportunity for us, obviously the biggest challenge in world rugby,” Townsend said.

“Having seen how quickly they got into their game at the weekend [a 45-21 victory over England], we were building up to our match and we watched the first half, and they came out as if they’d been playing for the last few months.

“They’re a team that knows their identity. I think everybody in world rugby knows their identity and they’re very good at what they do. It’s a great challenge, a great marker of where we are and where we need to go following this game.”

Just as Scotland did in their impressive win in Cordoba, the Springboks ran in seven tries last weekend as they swatted England aside at Ellis Park to open their Nations Championship campaign in ominous fashion.

As he often does, head coach Rassie Erasmus has named his team early in the week, making 10 changes to the side that routed the English.

For most international sides, that would equate to a weakened team, but even allowing for the absence of global stars such as Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, the Springboks’ unrivalled squad depth means they are still sending out a formidable side.

“I think they change their team pretty regularly,” Townsend said. “They have so much depth.

“Often they change the pack during games and I’d imagine this team or close to this team has trained together over the last two or three weeks.

“They’ll be fresh, they’ll be ready to go and they’ll want to build on what was a very good performance against England.”

Finn Russell missed the victory over Argentina as he returns from a calf injury, but Townsend says the Bath fly-half is ready to face the Boks, although prop Elliot Millar-Mills has been ruled out with a similar injury suffered against the Pumas last weekend.

The display in Cordoba showcased Scotland at their best, with some of the tries produced by attacking play of the highest order.

It evoked memories of the extraordinary Six Nations victory over France in March, when the Scots carved up the Grand Slam favourites to the tune of 50 points at Murrayfield.

An encouraging Six Nations and a very promising start to the Nations Championship suggests the Scots are on an upward curve and Townsend believes the upturn can be traced back to the disappointments of the November Tests.

“I think we’ve obviously learned from the two good performances that didn’t lead to wins, New Zealand and Argentina,” Townsend said.

“We learned from the defeat in Dublin [to Ireland in the Six Nations], but I was really pleased with how together the players were at the weekend, because we were tested.

“We were tested at the beginning of the first half, two occasions in the second half right at the beginning, but then when we conceded a try and picked up a yellow card. That could have been a real tough period for us, but the players were outstanding after that.

“These are the moments in a game that you either go on the back foot and absorb and let the opposition dictate terms to you, or you go forward and you find solutions. The players are doing that more and more, which is really pleasing.

“It’s an opportunity for us to learn and be a better team after this weekend.”