Du Preez, whose last Test start was against England in June 2018 in Johannesburg, warned that the second Castle Lager Rugby Championship Test at the DHL Stadium would be another epic battle.

The 30-year-old loose forward will start at the back of the scrum in the absence of the injured Siya Kolisi in a loose trio with flankers Marco van Staden and Franco Mostert, and after the Boks’ 38-22 defeat against the Wallabies at Ellis Park last week, he said the key for him was to be as prepared as possible going into the match.

“This will be my first Test start in seven years, and I’d like to do my best for the team and help get us on the front foot and hopefully, we can do a good job on Saturday” said Du Preez, who was in action earlier this year against the Barbarians.

“I’ve been thinking quite a bit after the last week’s result. There’s a lot of pressure on us, and on me after not starting in seven years. But I’ve tried not to think about the outside noise too much and just get my preparation right in the week.”

Du Preez may have had to wait patiently for his chance to play in the last few years, but he said the lure of the Springbok jersey always remained in the back of his mind.

“Your mind is a powerful thing – there were times that I thought I should give up hope, but I would never be able to do that,” said Du Preez.

“Yes, it took some time to start again, but then again, I can never take it for granted. When you get a shot, you must take it.

“I did a lot of prep and worked hard, and so much has changed. I’m just so thankful for the opportunity to get a run on Saturday and to represent my country again.”

Giving his thoughts on what they expected from the Wallabies this week, Du Preez said: “We are expecting much of the same from them. We must give credit to the Aussies, they did well last week. Their turnover attack cut us up a little, so we’ve been working hard on our defence and breakdowns this week.

“Fraser McReight might be a very good fetcher, but for us, it’s about our urgency to get to the breakdown, and we’ve focused on that this week. We need to get there before the breakdown is formed.”

The match kicks off at 17h10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.