Gold: Thinks scrum will be key

The Springboks look likely to adopt a heavy-duty approach after naming five forwards among their replacements, including an entire reserve front-row.

And set-piece dominance would probably underpin an opening Pool D victory to send South Africa on their way towards the quarter-finals and leave Wales sweating ahead of next weekend's Hamilton encounter against Samoa.

"I think it (the scrum) is going to be a key area for us against the Welsh," said former London Irish boss Gold.

"Wales are very good at scrummaging and obviously we are wary about that.

"They have some seasoned campaigners in their pack, especially in the second-row, so I think it's an important platform for us to launch off and obviously they feel the same way.

"I think you are going to see a lot more scrums in the night games because handling is going to be a little bit tricky.

"We saw a lot more unforced errors last night (New Zealand versus Tonga) and quite a lot of scrums, so we are anticipating quite a heavy day from the scrum point of view."

South Africa are bidding to become the first country in World Cup history to retain the title after being crowned champions at England's expense in Paris four years ago.

And although their Tri-Nations form was erratic, they at least finished that campaign with a victory over New Zealand.

"Our pressures are more the ones we put on ourselves," added Gold.

"By and large, not many people have given us much of a chance with our recent form and how things went in the Tri-Nations, so I think the pressure I compare it to is that of the host nation.

"The expectation of every Kiwi we bump into is that they (the All Blacks) are going to win this.

"Our pressure is more of an internal pressure and a responsibility to our country that has been so enthusiastic in its support."

And Gold knows there can be no let-up if the Springboks establish early supremacy against a Wales side that has run them perilously close on the last three occasions.

"I really don't think I have ever been involved in a game where the mindset is you want to take your foot off the pedal," he said.

"In the last couple of years you see that 20 points is not enough of a lead in a game of rugby, so I think most certainly, no, I would not want to see our team take their foot off the pedal.

"If you get yourself into a formidable position, you definitely want to power on and drive that final nail into the coffin."