Hadden was encouraged by the way his team performed against New Zealand four days ago and wants to see them take their game to the next level against the notoriously physical world champions at Murrayfield on Saturday.

“I’m sure I’m not the only person who thinks that the Springboks always bring the most physical and confrontational rugby on the planet every time they play,” he said.

“You hear ex-internationals and so on talking about it, so everybody is aware of how tough a challenge they pose every time they come to the ground.

“We’ve watched every game they’ve played over the last few years, put it under the microscope and know exactly what to expect this weekend.

“Southern hemisphere sides play very uncomplicated, straightforward rugby but do it with tremendous pace and power.

“If we don’t front up physically this weekend it will be a tough afternoon.

“This will be a very direct and confrontational game. We think we’ve got the players who are not only aware of that after what they faced last weekend but are able to cope with that.”

Hadden went on to say that while the players are acutely aware of how important the match is in terms of Scotland’s seeding in the 2011 World Cup draw, which takes place next month, he does not believe the gravity of the situation will inhibit their performances.

“The players are aware of it, coaches are aware of it, everybody is aware of it,” he added.

“We didn’t ask them to change the seeding system; whether we think it’s fair or not is nothing to do with us, but we have left ourselves with the situation where we need to beat New Zealand or South Africa to get in the top eight.

“It’s a tough ask but that’s what is in front of us and I would expect the players just get on with it and do whatever it is they need to do to get the win this weekend.”