The Bok assistant coach added that the main focus area for the team after the Castle Lager Rugby Championship will be to control their play better.

Springbok loose forward Kwagga Smith, who plays club rugby in Japan for the Shizuoka Blue Revs, also expected a challenging tour, but he said it was a great opportunity for the team to measure themselves against five different opposition teams.

The Springboks will face Japan at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 1 November, which will be followed by Tests against France at Stade de France in Paris (8 November), Italy at the Allianz Stadium in Turin (15 November), Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin (22 November), and Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff (29 November). All five matches will be broadcast live and exclusively on SuperSport.

With Japan suffering only a four-point defeat against the Wallabies this past weekend in Tokyo, where Australia registered a narrow 19-15 victory, Flannery was wary of the threat the Japanese posed going into this weekend’s encounter.

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“Japan showed resilience in the first half despite the yellow cards, and they showed how well they can defend against one of the best sides,” said Flannery.

“Australia scored six tries against us in the first game in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, so we are aware that Japan are not just a really good attacking side, they can defend really well too, and in the last quarter, they came back into the game, and they would be disappointed that they didn’t win.”

Flannery also expected them to enter the match with the mindset that they can create an upset against the Boks: “I’m expecting that Eddie (Jones, Japan’s head coach) will be building up his team all week and they’ll believe that they can win and rewrite history by beating the Boks at Wembley, so we are very aware of their mindset coming into this game, meaning we need to ensure that we are as well prepared as we can be.”

Both Flannery and Smith looked forward to the challenge this weekend and admitted that although it was a longer November tour than usual, it would be a great test for the Boks.

“It’s a great challenge for us,” said Flannery. “You have a bit more of a runway coming into the Rugby Championship with a training week before you play, and you face the same team the next week, so there isn’t much to change.

Kwagga Smith in action against Australia earlier this year.

“But for this tour, we have five different opponents from week to week, and that is how the World Cup will work as well, with a short turnaround between matches, so your ability to stay mentally fresh and keep bringing energy all the time will be good for us.”

Smith echoed his sentiments and said: “Five matches are a lot, but it’s a great challenge for the squad because we need to be on form every weekend. All the Test matches will also be tough, not just France and Ireland. But that’s where we want to be. We want to measure ourselves and perform well as a team.”

The versatile Bok loose forward was impressed with Wembley Stadium after he and a few team-mates attended the Rugby League match between England and Australia earlier in the week.

“A few of our Japanese-based players that arrived earlier in the week watched a league game at Wembley Stadium, and the pitch looks quite fast, which could suit the Japanese players who want to play fast rugby,” said Smith.

“That said, it looks like a good pitch to play on, so I think it will be a good contest. The stadium is amazing, and it was a good game to watch, and also to get a feeling for the stadium and how it is over there.”

With the iconic stadium boasting a hybrid pitch, Smith said although he had never played on such a surface, many of his teammates have in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and will know what to expect.

“A whole lot of Vodacom URC teams have played on hybrid pitches and also in the Premiership, so it may be different for us this week, but that will certainly help going into the match,” said Smith.

While the players arrived in different stages over the last few days, with many players only arriving in London on Monday morning from their respective franchises and clubs, the hard-working loose forward, was grateful that a few players already had a few training sessions under the belt early this week.

“After the Rugby Championship, the Japanese-based players had time off and then we flew to London last Tuesday, so we had a few days of training already, and we are really looking forward to the match and playing against Japan,” said Smith.

The match kicks off at 16h10 (SA time). Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.co.uk and the Test will be televised live on SuperSport.