ST JAMES' PARK, Newcastle -- Scotland's players know they face the biggest game of their careers against Samoa next Saturday if they are to qualify for their first Rugby World Cup quarterfinal since 2007.

Vern Cotter's men missed their first opportunity to qualify for the last eight on Saturday, when they were thumped 34-16 by Pool B opponents South Africa. In truth, Cotter always had one eye on the Samoa clash, resting several key men in Newcastle, but defeat by the Springboks has heaped pressure on his young squad. Scotland and South Africa are still favourites to qualify from Pool B, with victories in their final matches enough to seal the prize. However, surprise package Japan are still in with a shout if results elsewhere go their way, and Scotland are under no illusions over the magnitude of the task that faces them next weekend against Samoa.

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"It's huge," lock Richie Gray said of the Samoa clash. "If we win the match, we go through. If we lose the match, probably not. It's a massive game. We'll go home now and look at how we can improve, then we face a very dangerous Samoan side. "We need to start games better. We can't set off like slowly against Samoa. We know they'll come at us like South Africa so we need to come out of the blocks. Obviously everyone's disappointed in defeat. We'll go home and enjoy a bit of downtime, but as soon as Monday comes round we'll prepare again. It's the Rugby World Cup. There is pressure, but you get to love it."

It is not the done thing to write off an opponent's chances in the build-up to a match, but Scotland will have been pleased to see Samoa thrashed in Saturday's early kick-off before the Dark Blues faced South Africa. Japan followed up their famous giant-killing of the Springboks with a comprehensive victory over the Pacific Islanders, exposing weaknesses in Samoa's mentality as well as defence.

In private, Scotland might also admit to having some of their confidence knocked after the drubbing handed out by South Africa. In public, however, they presented a defiant front, drawing inspiration from their two earlier bonus-point victories over the USA and Japan.

"We knew the last two games would be pivotal," centre Richie Vernon told ESPN. "We've not got the result we wanted in this one, so it makes next week even bigger. If we play with some of the confidence that we had in the first two games and get some of our attacking rugby going, then we have got a great chance.

"Every World Cup game is massive, but we're going into this game as a must-win for us. The more pressure that's on it, it just gives you that extra energy to perform. We're a young Scotland squad but we've got a lot of guys who have played in big games already for their clubs, so we're in a good position to go and perform."

Scotland have come a long way since picking up the wooden spoon in this year's Six Nations, with Cotter slowly adding some steel to a youthful side. They looked down and out after the first-half in Newcastle but came back to score a try in the second. At the coalface of that effort were Scotland's second-rowers Richie and Jonny Gray. The brothers put in a huge shift against the daunting Springboks Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth, making 35 tackles between them. Jonny, however, admitted there was still work to be done ahead of the Samoa clash.

"It's going to be a very important match," Jonny Gray told ESPN. "We have to be honest and look at the South Africa game and take our learnings, but everyone's looking forward to the Samoa game. I've just been up against De Jager and Etzebeth, two world-class locks. It's good to compare yourself against them, but we're always trying to improve.

"It's a huge honour just to be involved in the Scottish set-up, to be here is a great privilege. Everyone in the squad looks forward to the pressure in every single game, but now it's about taking our learnings and looking to improve."

Cotter joked in his post-match press conference that he might be sending a couple of cases of beer to his Samoan counterpart in a bid to encourage him to go easy next weekend. Scotland's fate is still in their hands, but there is hard work ahead before they can crack out the celebratory drinks.