Now that the Springboks’ shenanigans with the Irish are over, we return to the serious business of Super Rugby and the head-long rush for teams in the top half of the log to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Just three rounds remain before the play-offs and from a South African perspective, there can be no more appetising fixture this weekend than the Sharks’ visit to the Lions at Ellis Park (5pm), with the result probably determining which side will top Africa Conference 2.
The winner of the Conference gets a free passage into the quarters while the loser, in all likelihood, will fight it out with the Bulls for a wild card into the play-offs. The Bulls are likely to finish second to the Stormers in the other Africa Pool, and the third best SA team on the overall log will squeak in.
But there is more to it than that. The top SA team will host a quarter-final and if they get through, also a semi, while the wild card team will end up in a losing battle, such as against the Crusaders in Christchurch, and duly exit the competition.
Sharks supporters will need no reminding that the Lions smashed the Sharks in the fixture at Durban in April to the tune of 24-9, the day before the Sharks went on tour to New Zealand.
The chances of the Durbanites reversing that result in Johannesburg on Saturday would appear slim, but they could be boosted if Springbok flyhalf Patrick Lambie passes a concussion test later this week.
Former Cheetahturned-Irishman CJ Stander collided with Lambie in the first Test at Newlands on June 11, pole-axing the flyhalf, and he has not played since as the medical staff at the Boks and now the Sharks take him though the strict protocols governing concussion.
There is a chance Lambie will play, but there is also a good chance he won’t. The Lambie scenario will have a ripple-effect on selection for director of rugby Gary Gold, who has had his backline options worryingly curbed by the one-week suspension of fullback Willie le Roux (for a tackle infringement in the third Test against Ireland).
Then there is the not insignificant matter of Joe Pietersen breaking a collar bone in a (meaningless) 10s tournament in Mauritius.
Pietersen, of course, is equally at home at 10 and 15, but his valuable versatility is now irrelevant.
If Lambie is out, Garth April will play 10 and the probable choice at 15 will be Odwa Ndungane, with JP Pietersen and Lwazi Mvovo on the wings. That does not appear to be too bad at all, but it severely depletes the quality of the bench.
If Lambie can play, Gold is likely to start April at fullback, a position that he has played as much as flyhalf in his career.
It is not an ideal situation for the Sharks to be heading into such a vital match with uncertainty over key players, but if captain Lambie can make the party, it will be a huge psychological boost for the visitors.
Incidentally, the Lions had eight players involved in the third Test against Ireland, the Sharks just three - Beast Mtawarira, Le Roux (now out) and Pietersen.
The Lions players in the green and gold were: Ruan Combrink, Lionel Mapoe, Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk, Warren Whiteley, Jaco Kriel, Julian Redelinghuys and Franco Mostert.
It is an enormous challenge for the Sharks, and one which will reveal plenty about how far they can go in this competition. - The Mercury