Well, it's safe to say that The British & Irish Lions Tour of South Africa is finally up and running.
We may have been forced to endure an embarrassing false start in Rustenburg, but Johannesburg was an explosive burst out of the blocks.
Now, admittedly, the standard of the opposition has to be taken account. The Xerox Golden Lions were awful, truly awful. An embarrassment to the proud history of Transvaal rugby. They were also a pretty poor reflection upon Super 14 rugby. But then they have been a side in total disarray of late so there were some mitigating circumstances.
Still, while they proved game, defensively, they were absolutely atrocious elsewhere, missing tackles left, right and particularly centre, where Jamie Roberts and Brian O'Driscoll ran riot.
However, while The Golden Lions were undoubtedly poor, the British and Irish Lions were impressively ruthless. They beat what was put in front of them - and in quite thrilling fashion at that. This was only the Tourists' second game and came on the back of what had to have been a confidence-sapping stutter in Rustenburg.
The tight five, in contrast, were immense in Johannesburg. The Lions dominated both in the scrum and in the air. Tom Croft had a barnstorming game in the back row too. The question of whether the Leicester Tigers forward, who, lest we forget, was omitted from the original panel, had already done enough, on the back of one performance, to secure a place in the Test XV was repeatedly raised amongst journalists in the press room after the game. Now, admittedly, such talk is grossly premature but that there was such talk is a testament to just how impressive Croft was at Ellis Park (or Coca-Cola Park as the sponsors would rather annoyingly have us call it!).
Of course, the stand-out performer on the night was the aforementioned Roberts, who seemed to break the gain line each and every time he picked up possession.
Now, again, it has to be said that sterner tests lie ahead for the Cardiff Blue – and it has been proven before that he can be successfully shackled – but the Lions number 12 jersey looks his for the taking.
Indeed, Roberts excelled alongside O’Driscoll, with the pair combining quite beautifully for the first try of the game. And the Wales international, of course, was made all the more impressive by the fact he was one of the three players in the starting line-up who had played in Rustenburg.
He betrayed his youth by revealing in the post-game press conference that ‘it had been a dream to play alongside O’Driscoll as he had grown up watching’ the Ireland centre (that drew laughs from those in attendance and a sheepish grin from the veteran O'Driscoll) and there is a growing feeling that Roberts might just be capable of doing in South Africa what O’Driscoll did in Australia in 2001.
O’Driscoll himself also had a fine game. Indeed, he admitted to being disappointed at being taken off midway through the second half (it was nothing more than a precautionary measure after a minor knock to the head) because he was enjoying himself in what was his first outing as a Lions captain since that ill-fated first Test against The All Blacks on that ill-fated Tour of New Zealand four years ago.
It was O’Driscoll, too, who was asked to sing the praises of Tommy Bowe in the post-match press conference, something the stand-in skipper was only too keen to do. And understandably so. Bowe, like Roberts, after two fine performances in the space of four days is now looking odds-on for a place in the starting line-up for the first Test against South Africa.
Ugo Monye has done his chances of starting no harm at all either. Indeed, Shane Williams will have discover his best form quite quickly.
Elsewhere, it was always asking a lot for Rob Kearney to better Lee Byrne’s performance in Rustenburg but the Irishman had a strong and solid game at full-back all the same.
Meanwhile, Mike Phillips and Stephen Jones, after a worryingly nervy start from the latter, will probably think that they are on course to wear nine and ten respectively against The Boks.
David Wallace might feel a little disappointed with his night’s work but, all in all, The Lions turned in a tremendous team performance on the night.
Indeed, the only truly disappointing thing about the whole evening was the crowd. It was just over 22,000, which was pretty feeble given the history of this fixture.
However, as many locals here were only too keen to point out before the match, the ticket prices were the equivalent of what South Africa’s rugby fans would be asked to pay for a crucial Tri-Nations game. Surely the provincial games on The Tour are about attracting people to grounds to watch The Lions, attracting people to watch the game of rugby, as opposed to crude exercises in money-making? Won’t the tour generate enough revenue for all concerned as it is?
Still, let’s try and concentrate on the positives and, more interestingly, how we think the starting XV for the opening Test against The Boks is shaping up.
It’s obviously very early days yet and we’ve yet to see a number of potential starters but below is my early crack at it; feel free to post your own selections in the space provided at the foot of the page.
British & Irish Lions v South Africa: L Byrne; T Bowe, B O’Driscoll, J Roberts, U Monye; S Jones, M Phillips; G Jenkins, L Mears, P Vickery; A-W Jones, P O’Connell; T Croft, M Williams, J Heaslip.