It's do or die for Sititi and Samoa (Getty Images).

By Andrew Baldock, PA Sport Rugby Union Correspondent, Brisbane

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Semo Sititi made a clear declaration of intent before the World Cup eliminator against South Africa, by announcing: "We want to be the best Samoan side of all time."

The South Sea Islanders will secure a quarter-final place if they beat Pool C rivals South Africa at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

And it would be a marvellous reward for a team that has thrilled World Cup watchers everywhere with their wonderful brand of running rugby.

South Africa's forward power could well prove too much, but Samoan skipper Sititi - one of the players of the tournament - has other ideas.

"We need to step up for this game," said the Borders back-row forward.

"It's do or die for us - the really need to be up there in the quarter-finals. This is the game we have to prove to ourselves that we're not here to make the numbers, we're here to compete.

"We want to be the best Samoan side of all time."

Michael Jones, Samoa's assistant coach, admits that he has the utmost respect for the Springboks' renowned physical approach.

"I've always maintained that they are the most physical competition team here in terms of how they press the game, their psyche, the heritage they have," Jones said.

"We don't look at their ranking, not as five or six in the world. They are the Springboks. I know they have a formidable pack, but we don't feel threatened, we're not intimidated.

"I've been privileged to play against the Springboks (for the All Blacks) so I know what to expect - I've experienced it first-hand.

"If they get in that zone, then it's pretty scary. We know that this South African pack can really take control up front - we know that's where they will look to win the game.

"They have a huge tight five, and in the loose forward trio, I see them more of a threat in other ways.

"They are younger than the English, they're faster and they maybe play with a bit more enthusiasm, and that's not taking anything away from the English pack."

Jones, meanwhile, believes that rookie Springboks fly-half Derick Hougaard could cause Samoa problems, if given the chance.

"We know Derick Hougaard is the new Naas Botha, so to speak, so we will be watching him closely, and we know that he is right up there with Jonny Wilkinson and the Carloses (All Black Carlos Spencer) of the world. We know that he has a huge reputation."

If Samoa are to threaten South Africa, then they will need to keep their stamina and composure during the final quarter, a time in Melbourne when England really got on top and punished them last Sunday.

"We were winning for 64 minutes - we were ahead on the scoreboard - and then I think we started to make a lot of mistakes," said Samoa coach John Boe.

"I guess that has to be expected when you are against a truly professional team, training all the time and in training camps for weeks. We came together a couple of weeks before the tournament.

"So I think our fitness level showed us up a little bit, and England continued on in their clinical manner, grinding us down."

Apart from selecting Hougaard above Koen, South African coach Rudolf Straeuli has drafted hooker John Smit and prop Faan Rautenbach into the front-row, while one enforced Samoan switch sees Romi Ropati at centre instead of broken thumb victim Terry Fanolua.

"South Africa are an awesome team with an awesome tradition. They beat Australia this year, and in the second Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks, they pushed them to the wire," Boe added.

"We know South Africa, but I don't know if that's an advantage or not.

"We don't play the traditional style, we don't know ourselves half the time what we're going to do, so I guess it might be an advantage, I'm not sure."