The second Castle Lager Incoming Series match against Italy, which will be hosted at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha and kicks off at 17h10, will also mark a significant day for Asenathi Ntlabakanye (prop), Cobus Wiese (looseforward), and Ethan Hooker (utility back), who are all in line to make their Test debuts if they get a run off the replacements bench.

“Willie is an incredible person, and he’s been helpful since the first time we played and trained together,” said Libbok.

“I’m very excited to be with him on the field on this special occasion. Having played a handful of Tests, I know what a massive achievement this is, and we are all very proud of him.”

Van Staden echoed Libbok’s sentiments and said: “Willie is a great team man and player, and he certainly deserves this honour. As a team it our responsibility to make it a special occasion for him, as well the debutants.”

Libbok was excited to play alongside energetic scrumhalf Grant Williams, and centres Andre Esterhuizen and Canan Moodie, and the rest of the backline and said: “It will be the third game Grant and I play together, so I’m really looking forward to it, much like I’m excited to have Andre and Canan with us in the midfield, and Willie at the back.

“Canan and Andre started against England at Twickenham together, and it will be great to have their experience, along with Mapimpi and Willie’s in the backline.”

Libbok said the team had put their disappointing performance against Italy last week behind them and that they were ready to lift their game in front of a passionate home crowd in Gqeberha.

“The mindset in the team is good and we are really looking forward to the game,” said Libbok.

“We’ve been very focused this week and locked in on the task at hand. Italy are definitely going to come hard at us, but I believe both sides will be up for what is going to be a great contest.”

Van Staden also expected Italy to deliver a fiery performance: “They showed last week what intensity they can play with, and we know that performance would have given them confidence, so we are prepared for another big battle this weekend.”

Zooming in on the importance of an improved performance in the breakdowns, Van Staden said: “They place a big emphasis on the breakdowns last week and did well to disrupt us in that department, so we have to get it right this week to deliver a good performance.

“That said, the intensity of our training sessions this week were good, and I believe it prepared us well for the weekend. One thing’s for sure, we know where we need to improve, and we’ve been working on that.”

Van Staden also had a special word for his Vodacom Bulls team-mate Cobus Wiese as he looks to make his Test debut.

“Cobus is a physical player, and he deserves this opportunity,” said Van Staden. “I don’t think it gets more special than achieving this milestone in the same team as your brother (Jasper).

“It’s a great moment for him and his family, and we’ll do our best to make this day as special as we can for everyone who is reaching an important milestone.”

The Springboks wrapped up their main training block for the week on Wednesday and will have Thursday off to switch into match mode before returning to the field for their traditional captains run on Friday.