Unbeaten at Newlands, but yet to win on the road, Western Province fly to Johannesburg this week to face a Lions side on Saturday in a match that needs to be won to regain lost impetus.
Coach Allister Coetzee has every reason to be pleased after his team whipped Boland 50-10 on Saturday.
At pivot, returning Springbok Peter Grant brought a cutting edge that galvanised the backs, up front AJ Venter, although played out of position at No 7, showed that he still has the heart and the legs for Currie Cup combat, and debutant Nic Koster showcased, in a moment of magic, his sublime skills.
Province, however, could be in a mini-crisis at the halfway mark of the competition without up to eleven Springboks as effectively they will be up against a Lions Super 14 side missing only Joe van Niekerk.
Province, tenuously holding fourth spot on the table ahead of the Lions, can be guaranteed that the home side are going to come at them hard on Saturday.
Indications were that Bok coach Peter de Villiers could withdraw up to 30 players for the remainder of the Tri-Nations, a scenario that would be a disaster for WP and one that would rob the Currie Cup of already eroded credibility.
Coetzee said he was ready to name an unchanged side against the Lions, but is waiting to see whether Grant, Bolla Conradie, Brian Mujati and Schalk Brits will be available.
Frankly, it's difficult to see how withdrawing fringe players from rugby for the next month is going to aid the cause.
Grant only played the last 12 minutes against the Wallabies, and on Saturday he relished the opportunity of getting significant game-time.
As things now stand, the Currie Cup will only be played at full strength for the last four rounds.
But before WP's Springboks return, their campaign will probably have been defined as they face the Sharks at home, and Boland and the Bulls away.
"With up to eleven of our Springboks sitting out, we face an uphill battle," said Coetzee, who was planning to make minimal (unenforced) changes for the Lions match.
Now Coetzee knows how the provincial coaches felt when he was an assistant coach to Jake White, as the Boks repeatedly clashed with the unions over the release of players.
Nevertheless, he was pleased with Province's game against Boland, even though WP have played well at home all season. "The performance of the pack was pleasing, because you've got to set the platform up front before the backs can run around and score tries," he said.