After four nights of pulsating action in the World Rugby Classic, an epic clash is expected tonight when Classic Springboks and Canadian Classic clash in the World Rugby Classic final at the National Sports Centre.

Both teams have produced some brilliant rugby on their way to the final with fans anticipating a compelling climax to the competition.

Canada, who are chasing their maiden title, floored Classic Irish on the opening night before pulling off a shock win over defending champions Argentina on Tuesday. Full back Blake Mahovic was the star of the show for the Canadians in their semi-final triumph.

The former rugby league star ran circles around the Argentinian defence to score two tries. Mahovic’s link-up play with fly half Mike Maloney has been a marvel to watch in the two matches, something that should be a concern for the South Africans.

After the win over Argentina, Mahovic had no doubt who their opponents in the final would be.

“We can’t wait to take on South Africa on Friday,’’ Mahovic said on Tuesday. “That’s definitely what we are preparing for in the final.

“South Africa are looking really strong, so we’ll prepare ourselves for the challenge that they bring.”

The South Africans, winners of the Classic on six occasions, with their last triumph coming in 2016, have been ruthless, having scored 121 points in two matches. A 74-7 triumph over Classic Lions was followed by a 47-16 victory against France on Wednesday.

Rosko Specman, South Africa’s standout player so far this tournament, acknowledged that they had a slow start against the French, something they will look to rectify in the final.

“On Friday we just want to make sure that we’re sharp in our basics,” the Paris Olympics bronze-medal winner said. “We just have to make sure that we capitalise when we have the ball.

“Last year, things didn’t go well for this team, that’s why the coach said we should play a quicker game. I think if we stick to the plan we'll be successful at the end of the day.

“It’s 30 minutes each half so we should not put a lot of pressure on ourselves. We just have to stick to the basics and strong points.”

South Africa should be counting on the likes of Willem Alberts, Robert Kruger, Corne Steenkamp, Abonga Nkwelo, Sikholiwe Ndlovu and Quintin Geldenhuys. These are the forwards expected to grind down the Canadians before the ball is released to the speedsters to finish things off.

Specman, Ruan Pienaar, Zane Kirchner, Andries Coetzee, JJ Engelbrecht and Jonathan Francke will be the backs tasked with putting the ice on the cake for the men from Africa.

Dick Muir, the South African coach, is fully aware of what the Canadians are bringing tonight — and admitted injuries have started to take a toll.

“Canada is a really good team,’’ the former South African backline player said. “They've shown how physical they are and displayed their attacking prowess as well, so we've got our work cut out.

“We haven’t won the World Rugby Classic in a long time, so it would be great if we could win it. We just have to recover as quickly as we can because we don't have a long turnaround.

“Canada are pretty dangerous throughout, they've got some good backline players, in particular their fly half and full back. Their pack of forwards work really hard and they look after the ball, so we know what we’re up against.

“We've got quite a few injury worries and with a short turnaround, it is a big concern for us going into this final.”

Before the main final, Classic Lions and Classic Ireland have a chance for some consolation silverware to decide who takes home the Plate.