The Springboks have named a strong side to face the Wallabies in Johannesburg, but the men in gold are not taking the several young guns included for granted either.
Head coach Rassie Eramus has wisely chosen to combine his most experienced players with exciting new Boks, with Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Edwill van der Merwe all having less than five caps each.
However, speaking to the media, Tom Wright and Angus Bell acknowledged that they’ve kept an eye on the new stars, and are excited to face up against them.
“They're very strong, very powerful athletes,” Bell said on Thursday night at the team announcement.
“We respect those guys a lot, and we know what they'll bring. It's exciting to pin yourself against the best, and we're just looking to do what the team needs us to do and do our jobs.
“[Ntlabakanye], he's had a great year, and obviously been doing a lot of work with the Springboks, which will only make him better.”
“We've seen Kurt-Lee [Arendse] lead for probably the longest period out of the three of them,” Wright echoed.
“But [Edwill] van der Merwe, we've seen him come on of late.
“I've watched him for a little while at clubland. With Kurt-Lee, obviously we played against each other in Perth last year in monsoonal conditions. A dry deck will probably bring the best out of both of us, which will be pretty exciting.”
Despite being the world champions, Joe Schmidt has also taken note of the Springboks’ continual improvement over the last few years, acknowledging the coaching staff Erasmus has brought under his stewardship, as well as the players.
“The Springboks, I think they've grown their game a little bit,” Schmidt acknowledged.
“I think [Attack Coach] Tony Brown, I'd have a lot of respect for his acumen. [Assistant coach] Felix [Jones], I know him well.
“Obviously, I worked with Rassie before, so I think they've got a coaching group that are very, very strong. [Defence coach] Jerry Flannery as well, another Irishman.
“I'm expecting that they'll be really strong in the set-piece, as they always are. Their kick-chase game will be very strong. On any turnover or any bit of space they get, they've got lethal finishes.”
Despite this only being the third fixture under his tenure as Wallabies coach, Schmidt is all too familiar with the weapons the Boks possess, and expects a big shift from his team to deliver a result.
“Jesse Kriel is such a strong player,” Schmidt added.
“Two years ago, I was working with the All Blacks, but I watched this [Wallabies] game from South Africa. He was a colossus and was really difficult for the Australians to contain.
“That poses a similar problem on Saturday… I think Tony Brown has added more width to the South African game. You'll often see them even go side-to-side very, very quickly. They've got some very efficient passing capability.
“With a guy like Manie Libbock, I still remember clearly that no-look pick-pass that he did against Scotland in the World Cup. That's the sort of abundance of talent that they have.
“They can play in so many different ways. They can out-muscle you. They can out-speed you. They can out-skill you.
“We just have to be a little bit better, a lot better probably, than we were in that last Lions test. Not just of who we're playing, but where we are. Coming up to the Highveld is always a challenge for teams.”
Bell will be expected to put in a big shift, with the Wallabies hoping their more experienced bench in the front row can neutralise the bomb squad.
“I think the right mindset to have is to come on and really work into what the team's ethos is,” he added.
“You've got to bring energy off the bench. That's why you're there. That's something that I love doing.
“As long as I'm in the Wallabies squad, I'm super thrilled. But to come off the bench, I guess, especially against the Springboks, it's an awesome challenge.
“As we all know, they've been renowned as the bomb squad and what they bring to the games of rugby. It's an exciting challenge.
“I'm just looking to add value to the team individually, but then also collectively helping the team towards getting the win.”
