Forwards coach Deon Davids says the Springboks will need to lift their standards if they want to give a skilful Portugal an ordentlike klap in Bloemfontein this weekend.
Even though Portugal are ranked 15th in the world, Davids warns the tier-two team are no palookas when it comes to playing a well-drilled flashy running game that helped them shock Fiji at last year’s World Cup in France.
Davids warns: “They [Portugal] are no pushovers…
“They like to move the ball around a lot and their head coach [Simon Mannix] has a New Zealand background, which says a lot about the way they want to play.
“So it will be important to keep them at bay, to dominate on attack and defence, and deny them momentum. We want to play the match on our terms.
“They will be highly motivated to show that they can play well and perform at this level, and they certainly won’t need more motivation knowing that they will be facing the world champions.”
Of lifting their standards after last week’s 25-24 loss to Ireland, Davids adds: “As a team, we pride ourselves on the standards we’ve set, and for our respect for the opposition, no matter which team we face...
“Having looked back at our performance last week, we need to be more focused going into this game and play the quality of rugby we want to play.”