Perth - The first-phase phoney war of the Rugby World Cup is set for a bone-jarring interruption on Saturday when England and South Africa collide in a crucial heavyweight contest.
After a week dominated by mis-matches and record scorelines, a sell-out crowd of 43 000 will pack the Subiaco Oval for a long-awaited Pool C game where the World Cup aspirations of both sides are on the line.
The stakes are high. The victors can start making hotel arrangements for a semi-final in Sydney on November 16. For the losers, a daunting quarterfinal against the All Blacks awaits.
England, who are seeking to become the first northern hemisphere team to lift the Webb Ellis Cup, will start as favourites against a Springbok side who they crushed by a record 53-3 margin at Twickenham last year.
That game exploded into violence when South African lock Jannes Labuschagne was sent off for a dangerous late tackle on England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson.
Both camps have been at pains this week to play down the chances of a similarly spiteful encounter this time around - but are nevertheless preparing for a ferocious physical battle.
"Rugby is a physical game - and we're going to play a physical game," said Joost van der Westhuizen, who will mark England's Kyran Bracken after first-choice Matt Dawson was ruled out on Friday.
Springbok lock Victor Matfield knows what is needed for victory.
"We have to dominate them physically," the 26-year-old said. "In any game against a big team, you have to beat their forwards. Against England it's especially important because they have such a big pack."
England's experienced pack, which saw Lewis Moody replace injured backrow stalwart Richard Hill on Friday, will be ready to fight fire with fire.
"They pride themselves on being big-hitters," said England's captain Martin Johnson. "We pride ourselves on being a physical side too," he added.
No 8 Lawrence Dallaglio cast doubt on whether South Africa would resort to the tactics used at Twickenham last year.
"There's been a lot of talk about the Twickenham game but that was a complete one-off in my opinion," said Dallaglio. "We know they're hard and physical but there's nothing wrong with that - it's one of the reasons we all play the game."
Dallaglio said neither team could afford to transgress, with each side possessing accurate goalkickers in Wilkinson and Louis Koen, who could be relied upon to convert penalties into points.
"Self-discipline is something we speak about a lot," he said. "We like to play physical, we like to play tough - but it's got to be within the law.
"You cannot win matches at international level if you don't have discipline throughout your team. Teams that don't adhere to that run the risk of losing."
Bok captain Corné Krige echoed Dallaglio's warning.
"Discipline is very high on our list and has been for a year," Krige said. "Our penalty count has come down this year.
Team manager Gideon Sam defused talk of another bad-tempered match in more colourful language. "It will not be a Korean war, nor a Boer war, nor any other war," Sam said.
The build-up has seen England's tactics questioned, with a furore over the legality of the favourites' successful rolling maul ploy and perceived tendency to slow down play at the tackle area.
Coach Rudolf Straeuli would not confirm if he planned to discuss the maul with referee Peter Marshall but said he planned to hold a wide-ranging pre-match meeting with the Australian official.
"I will be raising a lot of issues with the referee, but I'm not going into details," said Straeuli.
Straeuli has named a side containing just two players - Krige and flanker Joe van Niekerk - who played in the trouncing at Twickenham.
Krige returns to the team after missing the opening 72-6 win against Uruguay and Straeuli said he was encouraged that both his captain and Van der Westhuizen looked sharp.
"To topple the top team in the world they've got to be at their best and they need a bit of luck as well," Straeuli said. "But experienced players like Corné and Joost are starting to hit form which is a good sign."
Van der Westhuizen, the sole survivor of South Africa's 1995 World Cup-winning team, meanwhile said the squad wanted to use the game to silence their critics.
"We've said all along that we want to do our talking on the pitch," the 32-year-old 85-Test veteran said. "Saturday gives us the opportunity to be heard." - Sapa-AFP