Adnaan Mohamed

London - Springbok captain Victor Matfield says the Boks regard the Test against England at Twickenham on Saturday as a cup final.

He believes beating England will mean the year end tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland can be regarded as a success.

"A lot of people have written us off even before the Ireland Test. The whole tour is kind of in the balance. If we can get a win, it will put us back on track again, but if we don't win we will again be under pressure," Matfield said at the Bok hotel in High Street Kensington on Friday.

The Bok captain said the guys have worked particularly hard at training this week and they are all fired up and ready to go on Saturday.

"There might be one or two guys who haven't played at Twickenham before, but it's all about getting things right mentally," he said.

When asked if the coaching staff is under pressure and whether they have the player's support the Bok captain said: "It's not just the captain or the coaching staff. It's everyone because we all feel the pressure.

"We all know what the expectations are back home and we need to live up to that."

Besides the mental toughness required to get over this last hurdle, the big lock believes the technical aspects of the game are also very important.

"We need that tough mental attitude to make it work but we also need to get our decisions right to make it work," he explained.

In 2008 the Boks struggled against Scotland narrowly beating them 14-10 only to come back the following week to demolish England by 42-3.

Matfield says the guys are always highly motivated against England because it is always tough to beat them on home soil.

"England is always a quality side and the guys will always go all out do their best to beat them here. But you have to be 100 percent on top of your game if you want a positive result. We will have to make it happen out there.

"They are on form and are playing well at the moment and we will have to be at our best, he warned.

The Bulls lock likened the Test to a cup final.

"It's all or nothing! We have no option but to go out there and give everything. Next week we will re-assess the situation with an easier game against the Baabaas (Barbarians)."

"This however is the big one for us. I think there will be a lot more happy faces back home in South Africa if we beat England," he added.