Watching television coverage of the Lions 36-point beating of the Sharks in Durban on Wednesday evening and hearing the holes picked in the performance by the pundits, I couldn't help feeling some people are hard to please. Five tries to nil and nobody's happy. It is true that the Lions are not playing their best rugby, but it is a greater truth to say you don't want them playing their best rugby before the first Test. The Lions have got to be ready to explode on Saturday, not a day before.
Overall, I've been encouraged. What I like is the fact that the Lions are playing with their chests out and their heads high. You can tell they have bought into what the shirt means and, just as importantly, it is clear they are enjoying working with Ian McGeechan, Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards. I've worked with all three and they think it's important that players enjoy their work.
You can be certain that the fitness trainers Craig White and Paul Stridgeon are central to the mood because they are two Wigan boys, very funny and just great to work with. Both are hilariously funny and in any group of sportsmen, they will be the heartbeat.
I have been encouraged by the quality of the defence but, with Edwards organising it, that doesn't surprise me. This is a more aggressive blitz defence than the guys would be used to and it's definitely not there yet, but you only need to start getting it 100% right on Saturday. Of course the opposition so far have had nothing like the firepower the Springboks will bring, but the Lions have to meet them right on the gain-line and win that collision.
The difficulty you have with these Boks, who are world champions and are still a team of genuine class, is that they have extraordinary running power in their back-five forwards. These guys are big, hard and run with the ball. But some of them have not played for four or five weeks and that could leave them vulnerable.
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That only comes into play if the Lions play with the required aggression on the gain-line. Then they ask different questions of the Boks, ones that are harder to answer. When we have the ball, we must use it cleverly and move it wide when we can. I believe it's possible to wear down the Boks forwards, to run them hard for 60 minutes, so that opportunities open up in the final 20.
It will be a Test match and, of course, there will be plenty of kicking, but the Lions have to have the best kicking and chasing games. Loose kicks and poor chases will be chances for Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen to hurt us, but we mustn't just kick the ball to touch. You might as well give the man-of-the-match award to Victor Matfield before the game. Two years ago in the World Cup final, England made the mistake of kicking too much ball to touch and basically turning over control of the game to South Africa.
It would be wrong to say that if the Lions lose in Durban the Test series is over, but it is true to say that Saturday's Test comes very close to a must-win game for the Lions. They will be more battle-hardened than the Springboks and it is certain that the Boks will improve in the second and third Tests where the high altitude will work against the Lions.
Before that, McGeechan, Gatland and Edwards must get their selection right for that first Test and they have two big calls to make. I believe they should play Simon Shaw alongside Paul O'Connell in the second row and, probably more controversially, I believe Ronan O'Gara should be the Test fly-half. But let's go through the Test team as I see it.
Lee Byrne will be the full-back. He made one bad mistake against the Cheetahs that led to the drop-goal attempt that could have beaten the Lions, but otherwise he has been everything we thought he would be: calm, a very reassuring presence and, in that key opening match, he got the team out of trouble. Rob Kearney has done fine but Byrne is head and shoulders the best full-back.
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Tommy Bowe has got to be the right-wing because he's carried on the good form he showed for Ireland in that Grand Slam decider. Brian O'Driscoll and Jamie Roberts have been excellent. I spoke to O'Driscoll before the tour and he talked about looking forward to just being one of the lads, without the responsibility of being captain, and that's how he's playing. In every Lions tour, some players emerge and grow, and Roberts is the perfect example. Riki Flutey will be a very useful option off the bench.
I have been impressed with Ugo Monye, who is a threat every time he's got the ball. You need a finisher in the team and he can really finish. Luke Fitzgerald has looked sharp and hungry, but Monye's finishing gives him the edge.
There isn't much to chose between O'Gara and Stephen Jones, but Tests are often won by the finest margin. O'Gara wasn't at his best on Wednesday, he kicked a little too much for my liking, but the guy is a proven Test-match winner. He knows how to pin teams down, when to pass, how to change the point of attack and when he says to the captain, "I think I can kick that goal", it's pretty certain three points. He's my No 10.
There is no doubt Mike Phillips dwells on the ball a little too often but even less doubt that he's the best scrum-half. His try against the Sharks reminded me of Terry Holmes and that's a compliment. Phillips loves the physical side of the game and, in South Africa, they're the guys you want in your team. He has a bit of a bad attitude on the pitch, which is a good thing against the Boks. Gethin Jenkins is my loosehead. He is one of the most improved players in rugby and working with Gatland and Edwards has given him a new lease of life. He's a strong scrummager, defends magnificently and with him, you feel you've got a fourth back-row forward.
Lee Mears has played himself into the Test team. He's got a passion for lineout throwing, carries the ball well and has a very good temperament. For me, tighthead is easy. Phil Vickery has played in the past two World Cup finals, captaining England in 2007. He's fit, he's well and that's enough for me.
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What you saw in the last 20 minutes of the Sharks game was a demonstration of Shaw's worth. He's just such a presence at the breakdown, he is the best scrummager I've played with and when Bakkies Botha wins the ball in the line, he will feel Shaw's arms clamping him and he won't be going anywhere. Alun Wyn Jones is a very good player and can play a big part off the bench, but you don't start without Shaw.
O'Connell thoroughly deserved to be captain and now thoroughly deserves his Test place. He has to look Matfield in the eye at the start, then shake his hand at the end having won their battle. Not easy but it's not meant to be for the Lions.
Tom Croft has been a real plus as he allows us to put pressure on the opposition lineout, but he's got to be careful at the breakdown, where too many penalties go against him. I know, we're talking the kettle calling the pot black here.
Jamie Heaslip has to be No 8. Though he's not a world beater yet, he's a tough, skilful player who is a also a cleverer footballer than Andy Powell. And I'd go for David Wallace on the openside. He's showing signs of returning to his best form and Martyn Williams has been hampered by injury.