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Cape Town - Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss says his team is looking forward to playing against the Wallabies in front of a packed and passionate Loftus Versfeld crowd on Saturday.
Strauss addressed the media in Pretoria on Friday afternoon and said his team was encouraged by the huge spectator interest in Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test.
"The Bok supporters have thrown their weight behind the team and that is very encouraging for us," said Strauss.
"We are looking forward to play in front of a packed Loftus and the team is determined to deliver a good performance against a quality Australian side."
Earlier on Friday, former Springbok scrumhalf and Loftus hero Fourie du Preez handed out the match jerseys to the team. Du Preez, who captained the Springboks in four matches at the Rugby World Cup last year, offered some words of encouragement as well as some advice.
"It was massive to have him here with us at this time," said Strauss.
"He is someone that I have a lot of respect for as a person and as a rugby player. He is one of our best ever Springboks and a very inspirational figure."
According to Strauss, the soft spoken Du Preez offered some great advice during his brief address to the team:
"He spoke about us maintaining our composure and making the right decisions at the right times. His message had a big impact on the team."
Loftus Versfeld has a capacity of 51 000 seats and almost 45 000 tickets were already sold by lunchtime on Friday.
