Cape Town - A short recovery period won’t have too much of a negative impact on the Springboks, flank Francois Louw believes.
The Boks beat Scotland 34-16 in Newcastle last Saturday and are now bracing for a Test against the USA in London four days later.
Coach Heyneke Meyer made only two changes to his starting line-up which ran out at St James’ Park, opting for continuity as the Springboks aim to top Pool B with a solid win over the Eagles.
Speaking at a press conference in London on Tuesday, Louw said he was not feeling over-played.
“There’s a lot of emphasis placed on recovery, we’ve only played three games. It’s usually how the season does go... often you do play a lot of games consecutively.
“There’s obviously a shorter turnaround with this game because we’re playing tomorrow again, so it is a little bit tough on the body, it is challenging.
“But all the teams have to go through it. It’s something that we’ve prepared for mentally. We knew it was coming. All you can really do is just get on with the job.”
According to Louw, the Bok management prepared well to counter possible fatigue at the tournament.
“A big emphasis has been placed on managing the players, making sure the recovery is 100% - getting enough rest, sleep, the diet is correct... so far, so good.”
Wednesday’s clash at the Olympic Stadium is scheduled for 17:45 (SA time).
Teams:
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez (captain), 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Jan Serfontein
USA
15 Blaine Scully, 14 Brett Thompson, 13 Folau Niua, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Zach Test, 10 Shalom Suniula, 9 Niku Kruger, 8 Samu Manoa (captain), 7 John Quill, 6 Danny Barrett, 5 Matthew Trouville, 4 Louis Stanfill, 3 Chris Baumann, 2 Phil Thiel, 1 Oli Kilifi
Substitutes: 16 Joe Taufetee, 17 Zach Fenoglio, 18 Mate Moeakiola, 19 Titi Lamositele, 20 Cam Dolan, 21 Al McFarland, 22 Mike Petri, 23 Chris Wyles