Springboks vow to be ruthless against Namibia

South Africa captain John Smit promised the Springboks would maintain the rage on Thursday when they take on one of the lesser nations, Namibia, in the Pool D match in Auckland.

Coach Peter de Villiers on Tuesday named five changes to the starting XV that beat Fiji 49-3 in Wellington last Saturday, including "bundle of energy" wing Bryan Habana, who returns from a knee injury suffered in the opening 17-16 win over Wales.

Injured second-rowers Victor Matfield (hamstring) and Johann Muller (hamstring), fly half Butch James (hip) and centre Jean de Villiers (rib) were unavailable after failing fitness tests.

Wing Gio Aplon, scrum half Francois Hougaard, utility forward Willem Alberts and tighthead prop CJ van der Linde will get their first starts of the tournament.

"There's changes every weekend, depending on who you're playing. Motivation, I don't think, is one of them," Smit said.

"Every single guy here understands that it's a seven-week goal that needs you to focus on week by week.

"It's important for us to be really ruthless again and try to improve on the areas that we have shown progress on."

Habana shares the Springboks' record as leading try-scorer with 38 along with former scrum half Joost Van Der Westhuizen but de Villiers insisted the team's goals come first.

"If you can give me one player on this team that will put his interest above the interest of the team, then today I will personally send him home," de Villiers said.

"If we win the game on Thursday, it will be the best moment in Bryan's life. If he gets his record-breaking try and we lose the game, what does it mean to the team, and what does it mean at all to be here?

"Bryan brings some energy to the team. He's a bundle of energy. I'm glad to give him a run again."

De Villiers said it was important to manage his players' workload after bruising encounters against Wales and Fiji.

"We want to have 30 players fit for when we get to the proper tough games," he said. "We are really getting thin at the moment."

Smit denied the Springboks were already looking ahead to a likely RWC 2011 quarter-final against Tri Nations champions Australia.

"That's the wonderful thing about a World Cup. There's so many permutations and people trying to guess the routes and pathways," he said.

"I think as a team if you try and think what might come, you often lose sight of where you need to be going in the next couple of minutes. Any team that wants to win a World Cup needs to beat whoever's in front of them in that next weekend."

Scrum half Fourie du Preez and flanker Heinrich Brüssow have been dropped to the bench and wings JP Pietersen and Odwa Ndungane and tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis rested for the match against winless Namibia.