“It’s a huge, huge game with a lot at stake,” said Johnson. “This game is bigger and more intense than anything we’ve played in since the last World Cup. We’ve got to raise ourselves 10 or 20% or whatever it takes.

“They pride themselves in being big-hitters and strong in the forwards. You can’t play this game without being physical. At some point bodies will come together and we’ve got to win those collisions.”

England coach Clive Woodward was due to name his side today but in Johnson’s no-nonsense world, for whoever plays it is a case of never mind the style, turn on the steel.

“I don’t think the word ‘style’ comes into front-five play,” said Johnson. “You don’t get marks for style. It’s not rocket science.

“It’s about trying to dominate the opposition all around the field – in the line-outs, scrummaging is going to be very important, at the breakdowns, all those areas. It’s trying to do it to them before they do it to you.”

Johnson, however, does not believe there will be a repeat of the infamous game at Twickenham last November, when South Africa shamed the sport – ending with 14 men following Jannes Labuschagne’s sending-off in a match littered with Springbok foul play.

Johnson insists that encounter, from which only a handful have survived a Springbok clear-out, has “no relevance” to Saturday’s match.

“We’ve had one game which caused all the controversy and we don’t anticipate a repeat of it,” he said. “Teams don’t get intimidated by foul play. Teams get intimidated by good, tough and fast rugby.

“The Springboks are perfectly capable of intimidating teams with their defence. This game’s about winning, not about who can do what to who.

“A bad Springbok side is only a relative term. Even though we scored 50 points at Twickenham it was still a very hard game. They have a massive amount of pride in what they do.

“They’ve only lost one World Cup game in their history and that tells you everything about them. We’re expecting a ferocious encounter.

“There’s a huge amount riding on it – more anxiety, more nerves, more pressure, but that’s part of it. That’s why it is a big game.”

Johnson made light of injuries to Matt Dawson, Kyran Bracken, Danny Grewcock and Richard Hill, which have disrupted England’s preparations this week and seen Woodward send for Bath scrum-half Martyn Wood as a potential reinforcement.

“Ideally we would have 30 guys to choose from but these things happen,” said Johnson. “Although we scored 84 points against Georgia they could tackle and there will be some sore bodies around.

“It is not ideal but it is something we can deal with. It’s great to be out there with everybody fit but if it doesn’t happen it’s not the end of the world.

“Yes, you can still qualify if you lose the game, but you’ll probably get a worse quarter-final draw. It would be pretty difficult, but that’s the whole point about this game being so important.”