Boks are Usain Bolt of Cup

The Springboks have not had the greatest run of form in recent times and have quite a few players who will return to the international stage from injuries.

"If you look at Usain Bolt he has been injured and he has been here and there, and then he comes out and wins the World Championship and the Olympics.

"In our sport I think that is what it [World Cup] tends to be like. We as a team have great expectations, we trained really hard and we give ourselves a chance," du Plessis said.

While he will be playing in his third World Cup, he stated he was privileged to have learnt how to handle the tournament from some of the best in the business.

"I learn from past experiences, when I was at my first World Cup I had the privilege to have Os du Randt and John Smit next to me and a lot of players that had played at World Cups.

"I tried to feed off them and asked them what I can expect and what it feels like because normally you play three or four Test matches then you go back to Super Rugby or whatever, but the thing is here you have got to play seven games," he added.

The World Cup winner added that the experience of senior players, those who have played at previous World Cups, will certainly be needed if they progress into the business end of the competition.

"It is quite a short turnaround for us at the end of the pool stage and then the pressure actually really toughens up and the screws get tighter and the space gets smaller.

"I think the experienced players have been in that situation where you really have to perform under pressure," he stated.

Du Plessis remained coy about his feelings on what has been said about his personal form.

"I am not a guy who reads much into media or what people's opinions are, I look at the opinions of my fellow teammates – the opinions of number one to 23 that is being picked on the weekend. If the coach has faith in me then I have got faith that we will do well," he said.