World Cup winner Smit to make history by skippering Springboks for 50th time

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James, like Smit, was a key member of the Springbok team that overcame England in the final last October to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for a second time and he is relishing the fact he remains a member of the squad under new coach Peter De Villiers despite plying his trade away from his homeland.

Just champion: French president, Nicolas Sarkosy presents Jon Smit with the World Cup after their 15-6 defeat of England last year

"It's such an honour to be back with the Boks," he said. "Obviously we achieved something massive last year, but the opportunity to build on that success is a challenge I'm really enjoying.

"There's an energy in the camp that's going to lead to big things, I think. As a squad we've got big goals, but we need to make sure we're only focusing on the next step in order to succeed at the bigger plan."

The bigger plan of course is to retain their status as the number one team in the International Rugby Board rankings and victories in both Test matches against Wales will ensure they do just that ahead of what promises to be an arduous Tri-Nations campaign against New Zealand and Australia.

James, Smit, Victor Matfield and Percy Montgomery have all played club rugby in Europe since the World Cup triumph and the Bath fly-half feels the experience has been of huge benefit to him.

"It was a great experience and I really enjoyed my time in England," he said. "There was a stage in 2005 when I thought I wouldn't get to play rugby again, let alone with clubs of the calibre of Bath. It was awesome."

Playing with one of England's top clubs also enabled him to pit his wits against many of the top Welsh players on a regular basis and James is too experienced to write off Warren Gatland's tourists, despite the Boks going into the first Test as overwhelming favourites.

"I played against a lot of the Welsh guys in the last year, and being in England saw a lot of the Six Nations," he said. "They're a quality outfit, make no mistake, and we expect a very stern test from them on Saturday."