Namibia captain Jacques Burger is relishing the nation's first ever encounter against New Zealand at London's Olympic Stadium.

Saracens star Burger will lead his team-mates into their opening World Cup game when they face the All Blacks in Thursday's Pool C clash.

"It's very exciting, a life experience. It's great to be up against the best. The excitement is through the roof with the boys. All the hard work has been done, we're very excited to get this match going," Burger said during a press conference at the Woodlands Park Hotel in Cobham.

"It's more about the performance. Realistically you can't look at the scoreline. If we win a match there would be some very excited people around the world. It's all about achieving special moments in the match."

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has made 12 changes to the side that beat Argentina at Wembley on Sunday, with talisman Richie McCaw among those dropped to the bench. However, Burger hopes McCaw will play some part in Stratford.

"Obviously to play against Richie McCaw would have been - or would be - a great experience, just because I have a lot of respect for the man and what he's achieved in his career," Burger said. "He's a special rugby player, and he's done a lot for the game and for the All Blacks. To play against him would be a good experience."

Flanker Burger is keen to take inspiration from Japan's historic victory over South Africa on Saturday, although any upset against the defending world champions looks exceedingly unlikely.

"It would be stupid not to be inspired by that," Burger said of Japan's win against the Springboks. "Personally I didn't see it coming. It shows a lot can happen. Japan has changed the view with what the lesser nations can do. People will start believing. They have grown this belief now. We need to keep believing in ourselves."

Namibia were on the receiving end of a 142-0 loss to Australia in 2003, which remains the biggest World Cup winning margin to date. However, head coach Phil Davies is confident his players will avoid similar punishment from New Zealand.

"The only thing I'm pretty confident about is the way that we're going to approach the game," Davies said. "The way the players have worked up until this point. I'm pretty confident we'll give a performance.

"We hope that this World Cup, we'll perform well on the pitch on a consistent basis. The scoreboard then takes care of itself, in many ways. I'm confident we'll play well.

"The lads are such an enthusiastic rugby bunch, they love the game and training. We have come together as a squad in different guises. We have had to blend a squad and team spirit with guys from varying situations. That has been fantastic to do and see. They are excited about playing New Zealand and to have the Namibian flag and New Zealand flag flying from the top of the stadium together.

"Hopefully if we do our jobs well we can put some good stuff together and give a good account of ourselves on the field. It won't be a problem keeping them calm, just keeping them focused is the key."