The Blitzboks, who were eliminated in the quarter-finals during the two previous editions of the World Cup in Dubai (2009) and Moscow (2013) back themselves to lift the Melrose Cup for the first time.

South Africa are set to face either Chile or Ireland in their opener and the Blitzboks stalwart, Werner Kok says they are ready

“Coming into San Francisco we are defiantly ready – we’ve had a great run in to towards the World Cup.

“On Monday were had a great defensive session. The guys started off a little slow, but we ended it off quite well.

“Then we had a great training session against Argentina. It’s always nice if you can train against a proper team.

“Going into this weekend we are playing against either Chile or Ireland.  Against either of them we will have to be at the top of our game, especially with a knockout format of the World Cup.

“The guys are looking sharp, but there are still of couple things that we can improve on. Especially in the defence. Having said that, the guys are really looking forward to the World Cup.”

The Blitzboks kick-off their campaign at 6:15 on Saturday morning.

@MorganPiek OFM SPort