The aim is to play well - De Villiers

"At the end of the day, the more rugby changes, the more it stays the same, so we haven't prepared anything radical."

Eastbourne - At Friday’s Springbok press conference at the Brighton Community Centre, the magnificent £120 million (R2.5 billion) new home of Brighton and Hove Football Club, there was the heart-warming and slightly incongruous sight of captain Jean de Villiers and forwards coach Johann van Graan sitting at the head table.

It was about 10 months ago that De Villiers lay on a first-aid cart at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, his knee shattered, his international career surely over, with Van Graan standing over him.

De Villiers later said: “Johann looked at me and said, ‘Jean, it does not have to end like this. Whatever you choose will be the outcome. It is up to you’. And I hung on to those words and decided there and then that I would move heaven and earth to make it to the World Cup.”

And indeed he has, but on the eve of his team’s match against Japan, De Villiers did not want to talk about himself and his travails. He was solely interested in the less colourful matter of game plans and making sure the Brave Blossoms are pruned down to size.

That is perhaps an unfortunate turn of phrase given that the Japanese literally have the shortest average height at the tournament. They have the smallest player at the tournament, scrumhalf Fumiaka Tanaka (5ft 5in; 1.65m) who is also the lightest (11st 2lbs; 71kg).

“They do have a few unique qualities that we have to take into account and that really has been what this week has been about - tweaking our game plan to exploit their weaknesses and take care of their strengths,” De Villiers said diplomatically.

“The real preparation for this World Cup was done long ago, and when you get to the tournament it is about changing a few minor things week by week, depending on your opposition and how you want to play against them.”

So what have the Boks “tweaked” for this match?

“Well, I’d be a fool if I gave away the game plan,” De Villiers laughed. “Look, they want to play a very expansive game and keep the ball in play as long as possible, avoiding contact situations, that’s no secret. Well, we’d like to get our hands on the ball too. We had a game last year against Australia where the ball was in play for 46 minutes and we scored some fantastic tries, so we can also play that way if we choose to.

“At the end of the day, the more rugby changes, the more it stays the same, so we have not prepared anything radical for this match. We just want to hit the ground running and deliver a polished performance.”

Independent on Saturday