The Springbok coach says the good form of South Africa teams in Super Rugby has been a confidence boost for the world champions ahead of their World Cup defence.
Peter de Villiers says there've been two brilliant games recently which are a marker for the World Cup.
He says the first was the Cheetahs wins over the Crusaders in Bloemfontein and the second was the Stormers coming back to beat the Blues at Eden Park.
Four of the five South African teams in the top 10 with the The Stormers, Sharks and Bulls all in the running for playoff places, which de Villiers says will give New Zealand plenty to chew on.
However he tempered his optimism because of an ever-expanding injury list with
Fourie du Preez, Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie, Heinrich Brussow, Jannie du Plessis, John Smit and Juan Smith out of action.
