A successful three-game stint in the Nations Championship and topping the Southern Hemisphere log was always the first goal for Rassie Erasmus and his Springboks, but he will know that now the tough part of the season will start in earnest.
While the entire playing group will be given the week off after their 43-0 win over Wales in Durban on Saturday, the task of putting together the strongest 23 to face New Zealand in the Greatest Rivalry Tour in a few weeks will be the foremost in the Boks' minds.
Because while the three tests gave Rassie a lot of answers in terms of depth, a lot more questions would have been raised by the performances, especially in the light of the unbeaten run by Dave Rennie’s side over in New Zealand and their impressive win over Ireland this past Saturday.
That there is enough Bok depth at the moment is beyond question. The lock situation for one is testament to the notion that the Boks don’t only paper over the cracks, but bond them with strength that makes the team the envy of the rugby world.
But now is the crunch time for those who want to play against the All Blacks in green and gold. Erasmus has experimented in a way that saw 10 changes per game and has given the entire squad a run over the three weeks, but the questions certainly are there about who will line up at Ellis Park in just over a month when the first test kicks off against the old enemy.
As Erasmus said after the game - certain positions look locked in - the midfield of Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende are the glue that keeps the Boks together. Cheslin Kolbe is unmatched worldwide as a strike force on the wing, and Damian Willemse has the fullback position locked up.
STRONGEST TEAM?
But Erasmus’ answer about his strongest team shone a lot more light on the thinking of the side at the moment and how they will approach these next few weeks ahead of the test series as well.
“We as coaches like to have players as close together as possible, pushing each other for positions, and that rivalry is what we want inside the team,” Erasmus said, purposely sidestepping the question of what his strongest team currently is.
It is understandable. There is still a test against Argenina to be played and there are still players who have ambitions.
But in Durban in the wet, few actually staked a greater claim to a position despite the lopsided scoreline. Instead, what we learnt was what we already knew - the midfield, Jasper Wiese at eight and Pieter-Steph at seven are locked in.
Malcolm Marx has no equal in world rugby at the moment at hooker and it probably doesn’t matter what combination of front row you put out there, the opposition will have a very tough time.
So the next few weeks will be more about unlocking those answers to questions that are probably left unresolved in Erasmus’ mind.
Double World Cup winners, players deemed essential to the cause but who haven’t played in the past few weeks and where they will figure. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi, Ethan Hooker, Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager. Ox Nche - all names that would automatically seem like sure things for a Springbok team sheet, now need to prove themselves in the Buenos Aires friendly against Argentina on August 8 to confirm their fitness for the series.
PLANS FOR ARGENTINA GAME
Erasmus did say that 15 players would stay behind in SA - he mentioned it earlier in the week that it made no sense to send an entire squad to Argentina, and have the travel factor being an influence while the All Blacks were in South Africa.
So what we are likely to get is the core group of the Boks that will play in the first test will stay in SA, and the walking wounded will head to Argentina in a fitness litmus test.
Of the fringe players who impressed in the past three weeks, many will likely head back to their franchises to face the All Blacks, but there are a few - Paul de Villiers being one - who have made a solid bid for a starting spot - leaving Erasmus with a poser about his captain Kolisi’s spot in the side.
Some decisions may be more complicated than others - such as Etzebeth’s concussion recovery and his return to play.
But other than De Villiers, the biggest lessons from these three tests came in terms of depth - that if the injuries persist, or the stalwarts don’t make it back in time, there is enough to fill the Bok management with confidence going into the Greatest Rivalry series.
If Etzebeth, De Jager and Mostert fail to find fitness, then there is Ben-Jason Dixon, Ruben van Heerden and Cobus Wiese, all of whom impressed at various stages of the Nations’ Championship.
REPLACEMENTS GALORE
For Nche, there is Gerhard Steenekamp and Boan Venter, while Wilco Louw and Thomas du Toit will likely fill the tighthead role.
And as always, the Boks have done this while winning - topping the Nations Championship log and extending their depth and giving opportunities.
But now, when the big decisions need to be made, those who are injured will need to prove their fitness and form, because the past three weeks have proven there is no shortage of players lining up to replace them.