Pressure still squarely on Boks
The Eagles have named a somewhat weakened side for their game against what is close to a full-strength Springbok side in London on Wednesday.
However, veteran scrumhalf Du Preez insists there is still plenty of pressure on his side ahead of what is effectively a must-win game for them to make the quartefinals, with both Scotland and Japan able to go past them if they lose.
"The pressure is still on, if we don't win tomorrow we are out of the tournament, so we put that pressure on ourselves as well.
“After the match against Japan, we were under immense pressure, the worst I’ve ever experienced, and although the character of the team came through, we’re still under the same pressure.
"The guys are still in that desperation mood, and hopefully after tomorrow we can relax for a few days and then focus on the next stage," he said.
The scrumhalf general said that the last two wins against Samoa and Scotland have shown how the Springboks should play, and added that they will be looking to improve on those performances in their final pool game.
"At least now we know the way we want to go and what is successful for us, and it is about taking that a notch further," he said.
Although some players such as Francois Louw will be playing in their fourth consecutive game, the openside flank said that the players have been managed carefully and should be able to handle the workload despite the short turnaround after their win over Scotland on Saturday.
"There is a lot of emphasis placed on recovery, we have only played three games and that is usually how the season goes, playing a lot of rugby consecutively.
"With this game coming up now it is a short turnaround with only a few days so it is a little bit tough on the body but all the teams have to go through it, it is something we prepared for mentally.
"A big emphasis has been placed on managing the players, making sire they get enough rest and recovery and so far so good but it will be a big test for us tomorrow," said Louw.
Assistant coach Johan van Graan said that they will not be underestimating the Americans, and will do whatever it takes to secure a win.
"The Americans have played some pretty good rugby in this tournament, I haven't watched a lot of games because we have been focusing on us, but there are no weak teams in this tournament.
"After the first round it was pretty simple – we had to win the rest of our games to get into the quarterfinals.
"It is pretty simple tomorrow, we have got to win by one point or more to get into the quarterfinal," he said.
