Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is almost hartseer that they are facing Japan in the quarterfinals of the World Cup on Sunday.
But he says they will have to put emotion aside and treat their hosts like enemies this weekend.
Erasmus explains: “It’s a tough position to be in. The first thing is that it’s really tough not to like Japanese people.
“The way they have embraced all teams - not just South Africa, on and off the field, and adopting you as a city, putting on South African jerseys and making you feel at home is something special which I have never experienced in my life before.
“However, while saying that, we are playing for our country and we want to try and win the World Cup and for the next week unfortunately Japan is the enemy for one week.
HARTSEER: Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus. Picture: AP.
“We love the country, we love the people, but we have to try and beat them, and we have to play really well to beat them because they are ranked six or seven in the world and they deserve it.
“It’s going to be a really, really tough match for us this Sunday.”
READY FOR ACTION: Cheslin Kolbe, right, and Siya Kolisi, second right. Picture: Takumi Sato/AP.
Erasmus also believes their 41-7 demolition of Japan in a warm-up match before the World Cup counts for nothing.
He adds: “In the warm-up game there was no pressure; and I think the way Japan has embraced the pressure is really impressive.
“That pressure will be massive on Sunday and it will be interesting to see how both teams handle the pressure of expectation on both sides.”
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Meanwhile, the coach confirmed that both Cheslin Kolbe and Herschel Jantjies will be in the matchday 23 after shaking off ankle and hamstring injuries respectively.