De Villiers Wants The Boks To Relax

Jean de Villiers wants his squad to try and soak up the atmosphere in England before the Springboks open their Rugby World Cup campaign.

The 2007 champions will face Japan on Saturday in Brighton as they aim to win their third title.

“The rugby is obviously the main thing, but it’s also important to enjoy this special tournament as it only comes around once every four years,” said De Villiers.

“We’ll be seeing parts of England we’ve never been to and the players are very excited to experience new things and new places.

"We must not lose sight of our ultimate goal though, and that is to go all the way.

“This will be a very closely contested World Cup – every single one of the top teams have lost at least once this year and past form will count for very little when the action starts on Friday.”