Tired Boks up for 'great test'

Matfield: Excited at the chance to face England this weekend

I believe the guys will definitely be there mentally 100 percent. It's a great test for us at the end of the season and I'm sure we can come through it

Victor Matfield
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England v South Africa

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Victor Matfield insists South Africa will defy tiredness and play "positive rugby" against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Springboks coach Peter De Villiers had been forced to delay naming his starting XV until Thursday due to injuries at the end of a long hard season.

Hooker Bismarck du Plessis and prop Gurthro Steenkamp are both definitely out, while scrum-half Fourie du Preez is a major doubt.

Despite the possibility of being without some key players, lock Matfield feels those that do step out onto the field will be prepared to do battle.

Great challenge

"I think end-of-year tours are never easy but it's a great challenge for us against England on Saturday," he said.

"I believe the guys will definitely be there mentally 100 per cent. It's a great test for us at the end of the season and I'm sure we can come through it.

"We'll be playing positive rugby and let's see if we can go out there and score some tries."

South Africa will step out at Twickenham looking to round out their European tour with a third straight win, having already beaten Wales and Scotland.

However, unlike Tri-Nations rivals Australia and New Zealand, the 2007 World Cup winners have been forced to work hard to come out on top.

Matfield, who was a key player in helping his country lift the trophy in Paris last year, feels the tag of being world champions is not weighing them down.

Mantle

"We'll carry the mantle for four years but we want to move on, we want to improve and focus on the future," he added.

"That's in the past. There's another World Cup coming in three years and there's a Lions Test series next year so we'd rather focus on that than on the past."

Team-mate Schalk Burger is hoping South Africa can follow in the footsteps of the Wallabies and upset the hosts in their own backyard.

"Yeah, it's been a long season but it's a great opportunity on Saturday," the flanker said.

"The Wallabies have also had a long season but they've been playing great rugby so hopefully we can come out on Saturday and play some proper rugby."