Injury blows make the task harder for England

South Africa captain Corne Krige agrees but no matter how loudly both camps bang on about Twickenham being irrelevant, they are merely indulging in mind games.

That black November day for the Springboks has forced them to rein in the bad boys who transgressed at Twickenham and to put in place a new disciplinary procedure that hits the guilty in the pocket. This could yet cast them into the sporting wilderness.

England gained huge confidence and a psychological advantage from the scoreline. Martin Johnson, the England captain, neatly captured the enormity of the occasion by proclaiming "it will be pretty difficult for the losers to win the World Cup". Amid a sea of claim and counterclaim, Johnson has been a welcome voice of reason.

Just like Krige, he has spent the week making the right kind of noises, the ones that calm worried nerves among the growing army of England fans assembling here.

But, while Krige has felt the need to prostrate himself before the world's media and seek forgiveness for those Twickenham crimes, his opposite number has been true to himself. That should be hugely comforting to his fellow players and England fans.

It's a match that has the whole of the world engrossed because two of the giants of the game go head-to-head on a level playing field. And Johnson, for one, is relishing the challenge.

He said: "This is a huge game with a lot at stake and is more intense than anything we have faced since Paris in 1999. South Africa are the most physical side we play against and they pride themselves in the big hits they put in. But, we pride ourselves in our big hits too and we have to win those collisions.

"We are expecting a ferocious encounter in the scrums and it's all about getting an edge. Style doesn't come into a battle between the two packs - it's a case of do it to them before they do it to you.

"You don't intimidate teams at this level with foul play, you do it with hard, physical rugby."

Inevitably, there will be flashpoints but each player knows that a yellow or red card could decide the match. That is why England have an advantage.

England are probably the most disciplined international team and have benefited hugely from Jonny Wilkinson's penalty kicks. They have forced opponents to try to win ball illegally and then watched the scoreboard tick over. Wilkinson's boot allied to Johnson's aggressive forward pack will decide this Pool C match and England are favourites to move one step nearer that quarter-final with Wales.

This will be a fiercely-fought international and, quite rightly, the winner will be installed as short-odds favourites to reach the final in Sydney on 22 November.

Yes, it really is that big.