Davids added that the Test – the first between South Africa and Portugal – would be vital to build momentum with the massive task of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship lying ahead.

The Springboks started the 2024 season on a strong note with a 41-13 victory against Wales at Twickenham in June, followed by a 27-20 win over the world’s second highest ranked team, Ireland, in Pretoria two weeks ago.

However, a slow start in the first half in the second Test against the Irish in Durban last Saturday came at a high cost in the series decider, which the Boks lost 25-24 following a last-gasp drop goal by the visitors.

They may be facing a tier-two nation in Portugal this weekend, but Davids said the team goals came first, and that they were determined to bounce back strongly from last week’s defeat and to build on their standards.

“As a team we pride ourselves on the standards we’ve set, and for our respect for the opposition, no matter which team we face,” said Davids.

“Having looked back at our performance last week, we need to be more focused going into this game and play the quality of rugby we want to play.”

Davids expected Portugal to come out firing in what he described as one of the biggest Tests in their history – with the Springboks being crowned the world champions for a second time in a row last year in France and holding onto their spot as the top ranked team in the world.

“Portugal beat Fiji in the World Cup, so they are no pushovers,” said Davids.

“They like to move the ball around a lot and their head coach [Simon Mannix] has a New Zealand background, which says a lot about the way they want to play, so it will be important to keep them at bay, to dominate on attack and defence, and deny them momentum. We want to play the match on our terms.”

“They will be highly motivated to show that they can play well and perform at this level, and they certainly won’t need more motivation knowing that they will be facing the world champions.

“They also have a good support base in Bloemfontein and will want to make the most of the occasion of playing in front of a sold-out stadium, so it’s going to be a good test for both teams.

“They beat Namibia on Saturday, who have a good coaching team, so it won’t be a case of us pitching up and winning the match. We have to deliver a quality performance and give our best for the full 80 minutes.”

Davids expanded on Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus’ comments on Sunday that they would look to release a few players on Wednesday afternoon to rest and recover before the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, which kicks off against Australia in August, saying they’ll try to strike a fine balancing act in terms of team selection this weekend.

“We have a clear strategy about where we are as a team now and what we need to do going forward, so there are two key factors for us this week, and those are managing the players and building squad depth,” said Davids.

“We have a tough and long season so it’s vital that we manage the players effectively, but we also want to build squad depth for the future, so we’ll probably try to balance those aspects as well as possible this week.”