'We want to measure ourselves' - Kwagga Smith on why tough tour will benefit Boks

Smith, who plays his club rugby in Japan, admitted the Boks face a demanding schedule but believes it will be a valuable opportunity for the squad to maintain consistency and build momentum over five consecutive weekends.

The Springboks will open their tour against Japan at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday, before facing France, Italy, Ireland and Wales on successive weekends - a demanding run that both players and coaches believe will provide crucial preparation for future tournaments.

"Five matches are a lot, but it's a great challenge for the squad because we need to be on form every weekend," said Smith. "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."

Springbok assistant coach Jerry Flannery also emphasised the value of the five-week tour ahead in terms of the Springboks' overall ambitions.

"It's a great challenge for us," he said. "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.

"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."

Looking ahead to their first challenge at Wembley on Saturday, Flannery said they were expecting to face a psyched-up Japanese team, especially after their narrow 19-15 loss to the Wallabies in Tokyo.

"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," Flannery said.

"Australia scored six tries against us in the first game in the 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."

Japan coach Eddie Jones has already said his side will be targeting a victory against the Boks at Wembley, and Flannery said the team was well aware of their opponents' intentions.

"I'm expecting that Eddie 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."

Smith 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," he said.

"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 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.

Rassie Erasmus will name his team at 5:00pm on Tuesday afternoon. Saturday's match kicks off at 6:10pm.

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