De Villiers: Forward emphasis

With Botha sidelined due to an Achilles problem, Danie Rossouw comes in to partner Victor Matfield in the second row.

And Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has put an emphasis on forward power by having a five-two split on the bench - including an entire front-row.

"The first game, there are a few things we want to try out. I believe we've got a really strong bench," said de Villiers.

"You like to play to your strengths, and that's the reason we went for that (five forwards).

"We know what we want to achieve out of this game, and the make-up of the bench actually goes for that."

With another two days until they kick-off their title defence, skipper John Smit insists the Boks are raring to go.

"It has taken ages to get to this, and it's also pretty weird playing on a Sunday," he said.

"Today's (team) announcement for us on a Friday is really a Thursday in a Test week, so in a couple more days we will get to feel the fever a little bit.

"We will watch the opening match and a couple of games this weekend, and by the time it gets to Sunday the boys will pretty well know what their purpose is."