Seven days to go and the first real sense that the Lions supporters have arrived in South Africa. The most concentrated knot were on the terrace beneath the Danie Craven Stand and they proclaimed their presence in flags - Maldon RFC, Vale of Lune, Ulster, Magor Bluebells, Bucknall BaaBaas. Their singing repertoire is still drastically limited, of course. The only time they departed from 'Loy-uns, Loy-uns' was at the end of the first half when they serenaded the man of the match, bizarrely, to the tune of Boney M's Daddy Cool: "Tommy, Tommy Bowe. Tommy, Tommy Bowe."
Tommy smiled his boyish, almost goofy smile and well he might. Next Saturday he'll be playing a test match for the Lions at King's Park. Tommy Bowe against Bryan Habana. Not a scenario many of us envisaged at the start off the season - in fact, a distinctly embarrassing scenario for those who questioned his worth as a rugby player in the most unflattering terms.
But in truth he has been a revelation to all of us, and the thing that has surprised most has been the variety of his contributions on this tour. His execution of the bread and butter stuff has been exemplary - four tries in three games and generally solid positionally and under the high ball. The added value has been in the delicacy of his distribution - a side of his game practically unseen before this tour.
For all Ian McGeechan's insistence that Tuesday's kickabout against the Emerging Boks will have a bearing on selection for Durban, the players themselves were billing yesterday's game as a final trial. In Bowe's case, the formula was simple. Avoid tripping over himself and his position was safe. Survival would be enough. But that isn't the way he's playing his rugby.
He wants to impose himself on games and he did it again yesterday, striking twice in the space of six minutes in the second quarter. James Hook may be credited with ultimately saving the tourists' blushes but it was Bowe who won them the game.
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The first try was a classic case of a winger knowing his way to the try-line despite having to operate in a congested space. To get past the first tackle, he gave a perfect demonstration of the hit-and-spin, and also executed it a millisecond after receiving Rob Kearney's pass. He then had the strength and dexterity to get the ball down from an unpromising position.
But this was relatively prosaic compared to his creativity for Ugo Monye's try, a contender for try of the tour - first the angle and timing of his incision, then the perfect weight of his lob so Monye didn't even have to break his impressive stride.
Bowe was the main Irish winner yesterday but he wasn't the only one. Ronan O'Gara didn't even tog out but his stock rose. The press consensus was that Stephen Jones, like Bowe, merely had to survive to secure the test spot but this was a simplistic reading of the situation that did not do it justice.
O'Gara took some criticism after Wednesday evening's game in Durban, mainly because he overused the kicking option in the Sharks' 22. However this ignores the fact that the Lions treated some of the passages of that game like a training routine, where the emphasis was more on trying to replicate training patterns than necessarily making the best call for the game situation. Barring a couple of loose passes, O'Gara generally looked composed and struck the ball beautifully - and if the Lions are to have any chance next week, they need to out-kick the Boks.
On this season's evidence, the Munsterman has closed out Test games more successfully than Jones, so the Welshman needed a big performance in difficult conditions yesterday. He began confidently, and struck his first two penalties well. But as the half wore on, there were some glitches, including a missed tackle on his inside, near his own 22 when Province won the ball at the tail of the lineout. Defence is one area where Jones is supposed to have an edge on O'Gara but he was exposed here.
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Most damningly, when the Lions needed someone to control proceedings after the break, Jones's game deteriorated worryingly. There were moments which looked plain bad and will surely count against him - a dropped ball, a pass to no-one and, most damningly, a line-kick that went dead. Even allowing for Jones's familiarity with Mike Phillips, O'Gara must now be ahead on points.
If he does get the nod, that looks like six Irishmen in the test team - O'Connell, O'Driscoll, Wallace, Heaslip, Bowe and O'Gara - with Luke Fitzgerald still holding out hope that he can sneak in on the left wing. Monye's strong start yesterday may well have been enough for him but defensively, he still looks like a disaster waiting to happen. Yesterday he was caught out of position three times but only once did it result in a try, when Joe Pietersen touched down a couple of phases later. The Springboks won't be quite so forgiving. It was noticeable also how often Willem de Vaal targeted him with high balls. In fact, it seemed any time Province were unsure of what to do, they just banged the ball down Monye's wing. If this is the way their video analysts are thinking, you can be sure the Boks are too. Monye is quick and he tackles hard but that doesn't make him a good defender or a good footballer.
De Wall was one of the game's stars, a beautifully languid striker of the ball, and in such ropy conditions, he posed serious questions of the Lions' back three. Rob Kearney coped brilliantly in the conditions, covering a heavy surface quickly and intelligently, gobbling up high balls, making a couple of outstanding tackles and booming the ball miles off his left foot. Yet he had conceded during the week that he needed something more than defensive stability to dislodge Lee Byrne and opportunities to attack were limited. Assuming he recovers from the knock he took in the final quarter, he still looks a decent bet for the number 22 jersey, given he covers wing and full-back. Fitzgerald looks like missing out but at the rate the Lions are dropping, don't be surprised if he plays some part in the test series.