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Warren Gatland has had his final meeting with his assistants, Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree, and Rob Howley. The names of the players are inked and the phone calls have been made.
All that is left to do is hold the press conference and read off the list of the British and Irish Lions touring party.
With a squad of between 36 and 38 likely to be named, the current Welsh national coach is expected to select at least 15 players (and perhaps as many as 18 or 19 which is fully half of the squad) from his own side who are the reigning Six Nations Champions.
That could get things off to a rocky start before the 10-match tour even leaves Heathrow.
Relying too heavily on Wales to provide the backbone of the Lions could backfire massively on Gatland as the only time he has beaten the Robbie Deans coached Wallabies is way back in November 2008 at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Deans and the Wallabies have won the last eight in a row against Gatland and the Welsh. In fact the Wallabies have had far more trouble against England (lost two of the last four), Ireland (lost one and drew one of the last three) and Scotland (lost the last two) in recent times.
It is the captaincy question however that will be looked at most closely. Debate over the little ‘c’ has caused quite a ruckus in the lead up to this press conference.
In reality, none of the three front runners are certainties to feature in the starting XV for the Lions on June 22 in Brisbane. Welsh captain Sam Warburton was relegated to the bench during the Six Nations while former Lions captains and Irish veterans Paul O’Connell (who captained the 2009 tour to South Africa) and Brian O’Driscoll (who captained the 2005 tour to New Zealand) are 33 and 34 respectively and may be replaced by younger men.
Michael Lynagh has pointed out that the ‘management’ group of the Lions so far features no Irishmen – the tour manager is Scottish and the coaching team is Welsh and English, and that a smart play politically would be appoint one as captain.
The most likely outcome, as reported by several news outlets citing unspecified leaks, is that Welsh captain Sam Warburton will get the nod as the Lions captain.
Many commentators (this one included) believe that such an appointment weakens the backrow of the Lions and it will be interesting to see how the news is greeted by the press.
One thing is certain, armchair selectors across the home nations and down here in Australia will be watching this press conference as closely as Robbie Deans and his coaching team (which now includes Nathan Sharpe) will be. They announce a reaction tomorrow morning.
Join us here on The Roar from 8:00pm AEST to join the discussion on 2013 incarnation of the British and Irish Lions.
Goodnight all, the stage is set. #lionstour twitter.com/lionsofficial/…
— British&Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) April 29, 2013
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.