Georgia coach Richard Cockerill says his side will need to embrace the brutality of a Bok battle when they take on South Africa in Nelspruit on Saturday.

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The former England hardman told RugbyPass that they’re not just here as another training match for the Boks – they’re coming to scrap.

“We can’t be timid. I’m a former international, I played against James Dalton many times and there were no backward steps in those confrontations. So the only way for us to compete on Saturday is to roll our sleeves out, stick our gumshields in and get in the middle of it – what else can we do?”

Cockerill – who’s career was characterised by grit and fire – has been preparing his side for a bruising Test against the world champions at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday, and he’s under no illusions about what’s coming.

“We’re a physical team, we’re a physical nation, we like the physical parts of the game,” said Cockerill.

“But the next level of physicality and mentality is South Africa for sure and we want to see where we sit in that relative to the Boks. There’s only one way to take on a team like South Africa, and that’s head-on. And we’ll see if we’re good enough to compete, to stay with them.”

Cockerill says he’s looking forward to reuniting with Springbok debutant Boan Venter.

“Obviously they’ve picked a different front row. I know Boan Venter very well because I signed him for Edinburgh from the Cheetahs. They’ve picked a strong pack, but the only way to go at it is full noise. I’m not going to make any outlandish promises like we’re going to smash the Boks, but we want to go out and compete.”

The Lelos have lost both previous Tests they’ve played against the Springboks and their tour of South Africa got off to a wobbly start as they tripped over the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, losing their only warm-up game 24-20.