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MARSEILLE - Winger Bryan Habana is looking forward to a "brutal" World Cup quarter-final encounter against Fiji on Sunday, adding that he would expect nothing else.
"The Fijians, like most Pacific Islanders, are big, physical, fast and very brutal," said Habana, whose team beat Samoa (59-7) and Tonga (30-25) in the pool stages, as well as the United States (64-15) and England (36-0).
"We're not expecting anything less than what we got against Samoa or what we got against Tonga, a full lash of brutality, a very hard-face game.
"The Fijians are a very humble people but will come out firing. We're expecting a great physical contest.
"They're definitely a good team and it will take a full 80 minutes on Sunday for us to beat them."
Habana - whose first name was a tribute by his father Bernie to former England football captain Bryan Robson - said Fiji would likely once again rely on their rugby sevens-style type of play and continue with their aggressive defence that looks to produce turnovers and rapid counter-attack.
"Just look at their sevens aspect, how they've been doing on the sevens circuit in last four years," Habana said of Fiji, long-time a major power in the abbreviated form of the game.
"It's not just the backs but the loose forwards, and there's definitely a threat from turnover ball."
The Springboks, said the winger - whose great great great grandfather emigrated from Spain in 1871 - would likely fall back on a tightened-up gameplan.
"We'll try to put in as much structure as possible in the game," he said.
"With a boot like Fourie du Preez, and Butch James playing the best tactical game he's produced in a Springbok jersey, it makes it much easier for the guys out wide."
Habana, with six tournament tries, needs two more to equal the World Cup record set in 1999 by New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu, but he said his focus was not so much on scoring tries but a solid overall team performance.
"I do hope to cross the whitewash a couple of occasions on the weekend," he admitted.
"But players cannot try to hog the limelight. The overall contribution is not based on personal goals but team goals."
Habana said that having the tag of tournament favourites, along with New Zealand, had been something the players were content to bear.
"We came into this tournament as favourites, it's been a pressure that's been laid on us since day one," he said.
"We have developed over four years this side that is capable of doing well at this World Cup and we would be kidding ourselves if we said we couldn't take it all the way."
- AFP
