The long shadow of the Lions' summer spectacular will fall on today's eagerly-awaited Twickenham match between the new-age England and the born-again Springboks.
Much as Lawrence Dallaglio, the England captain, would prefer to put the Lions' triumph behind him, comparisons will be drawn between the best of Britain and Ireland and England's finest as they set about reversing South Africa's emphatic win here two years ago.
It is worth remembering that the Lions clinched the Test series in Durban with six Englishmen in their line-up, of whom four - John Bentley, Matt Dawson, Richard Hill and Dallaglio - are in the England team. Jason Leonard, Neil Back and Mike Catt also figured in the Test series, while Martin Johnson, a magnificent Lions captain, is missing because of a one-match ban for punching.
In other words, the Lions' input into the Twickenham shoot-out is significant enough to give England a psychological edge - been there, done that, got the T-shirt - but not so overwhelming that England could be mistaken for the Lions. The Springboks, too, have kept the hard core of last summer's Test side, though injury has deprived them of world-class performers Joost van der Westhuizen and Andre Joubert.
Certainly senior England players like Dallaglio, Bentley and the South African-born Catt will have warned the newcomers in their side about the daunting physical challenge posed by the Springboks, who could well be more intractable up front than the All Blacks. It would be self-deluding to imagine that South Africa's high-scoring Test wins in France this month were based on anything other than organised forward power.
England, having surprised the All Blacks at Old Trafford with their tenacity in the tight and the loose, now have an excellent modus operandi to which they must add a more flexible range of options in the midfield. This week's squad sessions at Roehampton were, by all accounts, fierce and uncompromising, so much so that Philip de Glanville, Kyran Bracken and Tony Diprose all received or aggravated injuries that ruled them out of action.
One can be certain, though, that Clive Woodward, the England coach, will have worked hard to refine England's movement whenever the ball is freed from rucks and mauls as well as developing an abrasive level of commitment in contact. It will be fascinating to see how the young midfield stars Nick Greenstock and Will Greenwood integrate with Catt when he gets the ball in hand going forward into the jaws of some of the most street-wise defenders in world rugby.
If the English pack can establish an effective working platform, Woodward will want his players to improve on the Lions' performance in one significant respect: the scoring of tries. Indeed, it was the Springboks' achievement in outscoring the Lions by nine tries to three over their three Tests that almost certainly laid the foundation for their astonishing, seven-try victory in Paris a week ago. In contrast, England have scored one try and conceded five in their Tests against Australia and New Zealand.
As Dallaglio said, it is a great deal harder to stay in touch with a side who score tries instead of kicking penalty goals: the boost to self-confidence, not to mention the points difference, is invaluable.
If England hope to make a credible challenge for the 1999 World Cup, there is no better place to start their revitalised campaign than Twickenham with a few touchdowns against the reigning world champions.
Meanwhile, although Wales may not have beaten New Zealand for 44 long years, an almost inexplicable air of optimism has inspired a 78,000 sell-out crowd at Wembley today. What was seen as a walkover only two weeks ago is now being portrayed as a Test in the true sense of the word.
The match pitches the player regarded as the man hardest to tackle in rugby, Jonah Lomu, against the player whose exploits with the Lions in South Africa confirmed him as the hardest tackler in the game, Scott Gibbs.
On paper, it looks a formality. Wales have lost their last seven internationals against New Zealand by huge margins, with the average score 35-7. They fashioned a mere two tries in those matches and conceded 37. With only two victories in their last three Five Nations campaigns and with a pack which lacks the durability of England's, it looks all black on paper for Wales.
Yet they have spent the past week talking themselves up, professing to have identified weaknesses in New Zealand's game which they intend to exploit. Even the All Blacks' coach, John Hart, has said he believes Wales will provide his side with its toughest test this tour because of their creative ability behind, allied with their defensive organisation in midfield.
