Saturday 24 October 2015 12:02, UK
New Zealand captain Richie McCaw says he is looking forward to a "brutal" match against South Africa on Saturday.
The All Blacks take on the Springboks in the first of the two Rugby World Cup semi-finals at Twickenham.
New Zealand head into the match as strong favourites following their impressive 62-13 defeat of France in the quarter-finals.
But McCaw admits his side can ill afford to underestimate their opponents this weekend.
"It will be a brutal game, but they are the games I love," said the 34 year-old.
"If you get the odd scar from it, that's just part and parcel.
"Being in that environment, playing that opposition with that sort of intensity, is why you play the game. If we get the job done, I will take any scar that comes along with it.
"There is genuine desire for tomorrow to come around and get stuck in, but we realise the challenge that the Springboks are going to pose. They are going to be desperate and we've got to match that. It will be brutal because of that.
"The team that can deal with that and take the moments that are on offer will be the one that succeeds."
South Africa's head coach Heyneke Meyer described the All Blacks' win over France as "amazing", but McCaw insists the result is firmly in the past now.
"The first couple of days this week were about ensuring there was a full stop," he said.
"I think we have done that pretty well. Looking at the way we trained yesterday and today, the guys are in a pretty good space and understand the challenge that is coming.
"We are under absolutely no illusions about what is going to be in front of us tomorrow."
New Zealand ran in nine tries against Les Blues last week in one of the World Cup's all-time greatest offensive displays. However, McCaw is expecting Saturday's game to be a much tighter affair.
"It is not so much the flash stuff that is going to count, it's being able to do the things that mean you can get across the advantage line," he said.
"That doesn't change in any game of rugby. You live or die by tomorrow, and it is about getting the fundamentals right.
"The subtleties of the guys who are able to put guys in space can look flash, but it is often the result of getting the basics right.
"We will be going in with a plan - you always do - and it's the subtle differences that often catch them (opposition) out, rather than a miracle thing.
"Sure, we've got some things up our sleeve, but you don't go out there just thinking it is going to work.
"The big boys up-front getting the set-piece right, that's a big one you have got to get right, first and foremost. If you don't get that right, no matter what you have got up your sleeve, it isn't going to work.
"The match-ups with the Springboks are some of the toughest rugby you ever play, and tomorrow will be a step up from what we have experienced, I would suggest. It's a semi-final.
"Schalk Burger (McCaw's opposite number) is a guy I have been lucky enough to play against over many years, and he is the epitome of the physicality that the Springboks bring.
"If I never get to do it again, I wouldn't mind making this one to remember. He is a man that I respect hugely, but I want to get one over on him."
