The portents for the British & Irish Lions look ominous according to Jake White, the World Cup-winning coach who, like so many others, was hugely impressed by the way the Pretoria Bulls, laden with Springboks, blew away the Waikato Chiefs in the Super 14 final on Saturday.
Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield, Fourie du Preez and Pierre Spies - all certain starters for the first Test on June 20 - all capped majestic performances with tries as the Bulls mauled the Chiefs.
The Lions coaching team are sure to have watched the game and will have been left in no doubt as to the size of the task they face.
"South Africa have got a very special group of players together," said White, who led the Boks to World Cup glory in 2007. "They have won the Super 14 campaign. There are players in the Springbok set-up who have won junior World Cups, senior World Cups and now the Super 14.
"There is no reason why South Africa can't win the series with the group of players they have."
* With agencies
Race card
4pm Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m
5.10pm Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections:
4pm Zabardast
4.35pm Ibn Malik
5.10pm Space Blues
5.45pm Kimbear
6.20pm Barney Roy
6.55pm Matterhorn
7.30pm Defoe
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The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used