Losers can kiss the trophy goodbye, insists Pienaar

The stark reality hanging over both teams is that whoever loses can forget about lifting the Webb Ellis Trophy. No side have ever won the tournament after tasting defeat and Pienaar, who lifted the Cup in 1995 as South Africa captain, insists neither side can afford any mistakes.

Pienaar said: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the players. The Springboks have peaked for this England game and history has shown that if you don't win it, then you will not go on to achieve something great. It is bound to be very physical because that's rugby.

"The question of discipline and control is one that everyone faces in the heat of battle, not just South Africa. When the pressure matches come along - and they don't get much tougher than the South Africa v England pool match - it will be about who can handle it.

"You can be firing on all cylinders with the strongest XV on the pitch, but if you can't deal with the pressure of knowing that one mistake and your Cup is over, then you will lose.

"It was inescapable that two big teams would meet up the pool matches and there are number of spicy games, particularly in the 'Pool of Death' with Ireland. Argentina and France."

Pienaar, who is part of ITV's commentary team for the Cup, believes the key man for the Boks tomorrow will be captain John Smit, whose right leg will once again be heavily strapped to get his dodgy hamstring through at least 60 minutes.

When captain, Pienaar was the rallying point for his team in times of trouble and he recognises the importance that Smit has in the current team.

He said: "John is important for South Africa and the debate has always been intense in this country about who should be leading the side.

"There has been a lot written about John, just as there was about me when I led the Springboks, and that's a fact of South African sporting life.

"When John got injured against Australia in the Tri-Nations, you could clearly see he was missed as a leader and in the scrums. He has a nice relationship with Jake [White] and there are other leaders within the team, including Victor Matfield and Os du Randt.

"We have had some luck because we got two teams into the Super14 final [Bulls and Sharks] after some amazing matches.

"Having got there those players now understand what it takes to reach the final match of a tournament, how deep they have to dig to win something like that. That was incredibly important for South African rugby.

"I really believe those players in the Super 14 final would have gained vital experience and it could play a significant part in the Cup challenge."