It would not be stretching things to say that today's tour opener against Boland in Wellington, outside Capetown, (kick-off 3.15 local time, 2.15 Irish) is even more important than the two Tests in games five and seven. While it may not be a Test, it is a rugby litmus test.
A win isn't exactly imperative but, put simplistically, more than any other game it could go some way to establishing whether this will be a good tour or a bad tour.
Looked at in the bigger picture, the build-up to the 1999 World Cup starts here. Looked at in the narrower framework of this seven-match tour, this game is the benchmark for what lies ahead over the ensuing four weeks.
Besides, what this team and this squad needs is a win. Accordingly the Irish management have identified Boland and a similarly strong South West Districts side in George next Wednesday as phase one of the tour. "Some (players) may double up," admitted Gatland yesterday. A couple of wins would set the team up nicely for Currie Cup holders Western Province and the remaining matches. A couple of defeats certainly wouldn't.
Even allowing for the absence of the four Irish Lions from last summer and Malcolm O'Kelly, it is a pretty strong selection. The nucleus of the side, eight, played against England, and they're a pretty experienced bunch. The only uncapped player is the prodigal Dion O'Cuinneagain, who will be more acclimatised to the conditions and opponents than anybody else.
Boland are a relatively unknown quantity to the Irish and it's hard to forecast exactly how things will go. Regarding today's opponents, even Gatland admitted: "To be honest, I'm in the dark." Albeit a crude yardstick, Boland might reasonably be regarded around sixth in the South African provincial pecking order.
They've had a good VodaCom Cup series, finishing third in their section after a run of eight wins in nine games. Today they welcome back eight of their Super 12 players en bloc. Though some of them are serious hombres, and a potent outside three suggests an all-embracing examination for the Irish, in a way that might suit Ireland.
Even the Boland coach Mike Bayly admitted there have been teething problems this week and so the home side may not have that edge in cohesiveness which hosts might customarily have against visitors in tour openers.
However, they are mustard keen. "It's like a Test match to us," said Bayly, reminding us of how Boland extended the All Blacks to a `mere' 32-21 win two years ago. John Daniels, their leading try scorer in the VodaCom Cup, described this game as "the biggest match of my life".
Thus there will be a hostile 10,000 or so crowd, nearly two-thirds the capacity, added to which a hard pitch and a warm day will be tailor-made for the Boland bruisers. The one fear is whether Ireland can stand the heat. As Peter Clohessy has said in drawing on his Super 12 experiences with Queensland (he played in South Africa twice) Ireland's most pressing problem will be in living with the greater pace of the game.
Against that, there has been no repeat of the collapse when the pace intensified against the All Blacks and even against Italy in Bologna, with this Irish team. Nor will the Super 12 players in Boland's ranks have been too accustomed lately to a side that plays hard Test rugby.
With enough evidence to suggest that Boland may take time to take shape, Ireland could have the wherewithal to make a good start. Nor should they lack for fitness over 80 minutes. This ought to be the fittest, best prepared Irish touring party ever. Every one of them is a fully-fledged professional. They have a back-up team of 10, including a fitness adviser (Craig White), a technical officer (Tommy Conneely), a physiotherapist (Denise Fanagan), a masseur (Willie Bennett), a team doctor (Donal O'Shaughnessy), a bag man/mother hen (Paddy O'Reilly), and for the first time, a press officer, John Redmond.
In Gatland, you feel: right man, right time, right place. Someone with an understanding for the Irish rugby psyche. The drills and patterns of play in training have come on immeasurably from the early days under Gatland. Given all of this, it's not unreasonable to anticipate Ireland can beat Boland. If so, this could even be the start of something at least a little bit special.
Sure, when you put together the favourable home conditions, Boland's pedigree, their batch of Super 12 players, their huge motivation for a game like this, and add in their result against the All Blacks, you begin to worry. But when you counter it with the positives: Gatland as coach, the non-fulfilled prophecies about a spate of withdrawals, the preparation and training, the spirit within, the performances against France and England, hope rises. If Ireland are to have any pretensions about being someway competitive in the 1999 World Cup, then a tour like this is not so much a hindrance as vital. And if Ireland are to entertain notions of winning at least three games of the seven on this tour, then realistically this one ought to be one of them.
