The Springboks believe they have one-up on their World Cup rivals, having arrived in Japan a week earlier.
And on Friday, when they face the hosts in their final warm-up match before facing New Zealand in their first match of the tournament on September 21, they will make that gap between them and the rest even bigger.
The biggest challenge for coach Rassie Erasmus and his team is the humidity in Japan.
Winger Cheslin Kolbe explains: “It’s something to get used to - the humidity and the ball being wet.
“We have to get used to the humidity.”
South Africa only faced Japan once before - at the last World Cup, when they were stunned 38-34 by then-coach Eddie Jones and his team.
Kolbe believes they have to forget about that earthquake, in terms of rugby results.
PREPARATIONS: Boss Rassie Erasmus. Photo: Sphiwe Sebeko/Reuters.
He adds: “The Springboks go out there to win.
“We shouldn’t have the mindset of what happened four years ago.
“Our focus is on the match on Friday and we must play the best rugby that we can.”
Erasmus shares his wing’s view, saying: “When we played four years ago - everyone knows it hurts when you lose in a Springbok jersey, we always prepare to win.”
Of the playing conditions, he adds: “We’re trying to get used to conditions. That’s why we came early.
“We already felt the heat, the humidity the ball. I think we’ll definitely reap the rewards.
“[Being here a week earlier is] not a big sacrifice.”
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/PictureJournal?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PictureJournalEntry 2:
💪 The team put in the hours on the training field
🏟 Preparing for Saitama on Friday #StrongerTogether #LoveJapan pic.twitter.com/EkRPcPwABb
— Springboks (@Springboks)
Of Friday’s opposition, he says: “Their 9 and 10 are very experienced and they’ve got big centres and outside wingers. It’s a different team to four years ago. All over, they are a dangerous team.”