Kriel, who plays for Japanese club Canon Eagles, added the fact that some of the South African and Japanese players have been playing together for a few years in their local league would spice up the clash.

The Springboks’ have another four tough matches lined up following this match, 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) as part of the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour. All five matches will be broadcast live and exclusively on SuperSport.

“This game is everything for us to get our end-of-the-year campaign off to a good start, and we won’t look further than this game,” said Kriel. “So, it’s important to get a good result.”

While he made it clear that it would be an epic battle between the sides, Kriel looked forward to the challenge of facing a few familiar faces from club rugby in Japan.

“It’s exciting, especially to play against a lot of familiar faces,” said Kriel. “I’ve been in Japan for close to seven years now, and it will be good to play with some teammates and guys I’ve played against in the Springbok jersey at the highest level.

“The fact that some of the players know one another will definitely add a different dynamic to the game because the guys know each other’s tendencies and how they play, so tactically we need to be at our best and stop the threats they bring to the game.”

Grant Williams.

Unlike Kriel, this will mark Williams’ first match against Japan, and he was equally excited about the prospect of facing the Brave Blossoms.

“It’s always an honour to be selected for the Springboks, and I’m really looking forward to playing against Japan,” said Williams.

“They play a very fast game, and Wembley Stadium has a fast pitch, so I’m very excited about the challenge. They also have good and fast scrumhalves, so it will be a challenging day on the park for us if we don’t slow down their ball.”

With Japan suffering going down by only four points against Australia last weekend, Williams said the match would be tougher than many pundits think: “Any team in the world will want to challenge us, and we know Japan have been playing really well. We’ve looked at their past results and the way they play, so they will be psyched up and ready for the battle on Saturday.”

While the match will mark Williams’ first outing at Wembley Stadium, Kriel has had the luxury of playing at the iconic field, and he also visited the ground recently, which added to his excitement for the clash.

“The last time I played there was in 2016 against the Barbarians, and we were there on Saturday watching rugby league,” said Kriel. “It’s a fantastic stadium with a great atmosphere, so it will be exciting to play at a different stadium.”

The match kicks off at 18h10 (SA time) and tickets are available from Ticketmaster - CLICK HERE.