British & Irish Lions 26 Western Province 23

Five out of five. That can hardly be bad news for the Lions, a week away from the first test. With the final warm-up game against the Southern Kings on Tuesday just four days before the Springboks in Durban, today was the last chance for all starting line-up pretenders to stand up and shine. Ian McGeechan told them to make his decisions difficult ones.

Andy Powell and Joe Worsley heard him, in the first half at least. Powell did what his does best - smash whatever's infront of him. He got through a lot of yards, repeatedly getting over the gain line, and it was his barnstorming run on the left which knocked the hosts' defence out of shape for Bowe's try on the opposite side of the pitch. Worsley also stood up, taking the ball into contact by running straight, tackling and rucking with verve. His clever little tug on the defender's shirt to allow Tommy Bowe to break through for Monye's try - expertly brought to our attention by Sky Sports' coverage - was reminiscent of the little bits and pieces of gamesmanship which the All Blacks continued to get away with - to my disgust - four years ago. It will depend upon whether the Lions management keep it conservative or slightly more expansive (with Tom Croft) whether Worsley gets the test No.6 spot.

Another man holding his breath for that decision will be Martyn Williams, competing with David Wallace for the openside nod. He was highly influential in the loose today - reminiscent of his Grand Slam 2005 pomp. But Williams comes up short when it comes to the basics of the back row. There was one instance when he almost balked at the prospect of involvement in another ruck, the ball taken in and lost by the Lions due to a lack of support. I had images of Richie McCaw - thankfully not to be faced this time round - and Schalk Burger - thankfully it seems out of at least the first test - powering the Western Province intruder backwards and rucking over, as Williams tamely, meekly leant a bit of a push to the breakdown. He's going to get massacred by the Boks back row if he gets the chance to do that again next Saturday.

Another man who would suffer from the sheer physicality of the World Champions' game is Ronan O'Gara. Through almost no fault of his own, he's never had a chance of landing the fly-half spot, because he's small, uncomfortable in contact, liable to being easily hounded. Stephen Jones then. Jones must have listened to Ian McGeechan too, not realising that he wasn't talking to him. McGeechan didn't want a difficult decision over his No.10; Jones should have been nailed on. All he needed to do today was say 'yes, boss, I'm your man, steady old Stephen.' But he shanked a couple of kicks out-of-hand, missed a couple off the deck and, more worryingly, utterly failed to stamp his authority on the game. I'll make his excuses for him now: the opposition were strong and resilient, the wind strong and unpredictable, and he had his Mike Phillips - the head-and-shoulders choice for the test No.9 jersey - taken away from him.

You want to build your team around your fly-half, who dictates to his backs where his game is going, and whose kicking shuttles his forwards around the pitch, from line-out to line-out. Dan Carter controls games on his own some days, completely untouchable. The closest we've seen up here in the Northern Hemisphere in recent years is Danny Cipriani - in his early, untouchable days, before he became England's prime scapegoat. I'm not saying I want Cipriani lining up next weekend but...

Especially in the high altitude matches, a potent kicking game will be imperative for Lions success; the fly-half the most important man in a red jersey. Lee Byrne's massive boot will help him out from full back, and Rob Kearney's left peg could yet displace Ugo Monye on the wing. Jones' place kicking wasn't too bad today, as inadequate as a fly-half must feel when someone else kicks over the winning points. But his lack of control in the loose was a little bit frightening. Neil Jenkins has been drafted in as kicking coach for the remainder of the tour. He's got a week to sort his fellow Welshman out.