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The Springboks will be expecting to earn their first win of Rugby World Cup 2019 when they face Namibia at the City of Toyota Stadium in Aichi prefecture on Saturday evening.
South Africa lost their opening match to New Zealand 23-13. Italy are currently top of Pool B with 10 points but have played one more game than everyone else.
Rassie Erasmus will be sure to avoid complacency here as this is a match they are expected to win to seal Pool qualification.
The South Africans should understand well the importance of not underestimating lower-ranked teams as they suffered a monumental upset at the hands of Japan at the 2015 edition of the Rugby World Cup.
Captain Schalk Brits is reported to have warned his squad against complacency and ensure they approach the match with maximum respect for their African rivals.
Brits, who plays for Super Rugby side Bulls, was convinced by Head Coach Erasmus to come out of retirement and return to his trademark position at No. 8.
Thus far Brits has assumed a leadership role within the current squad and leads his team out as captain.
Namibia also suffered opening game defeat when they lost to Italy 47-22. Given the difficulty of the group with the All Blacks and South Africa still to play, they are not expected to be in contention for Quarter Final Qualification.
Phil Davies’ men made a notable account of themselves in their opening match with the Azzurri. They defended and attacked with absolute strength up until the final whistle.
They managed four tries and ensured that the Italians worked hard for the five points. They even took the lead early on by capitalising on an Italian lineup error with Damian Stevens breaking through.
The Welwitschias have now lost all 20 of their Rugby World Cup matches and often suffer heavy defeats at the tournament.
Centre PJ Walters is adamant that his side will be up for the fight and fancies them to achieve the first major upset of the tournament. In reality this fixture does or die for both sides if they are to stay in contention for a spot in the Quarter Finals.
