Wallaby playmaker Matt Giteau, the highest paid rugby star in Australia, is gearing up to play as pivotal a role against the Springboks in Durban on Saturday as Dan Carter did at Newlands over the weekend.
Although much was made of Carter's poor kicking for poles, the ace Kiwi flyhalf made Butch James look like a carthorse, with superior positional play, tactical acumen and precision punting playing a defining role in the All Blacks 19-0 win.
In Durban the Boks will face another world class playmaker in Giteau, who has struck the right chord with inside centre Berrick Barnes this season to put the Wallabies in contention for the Tri-Nations trophy.
"The flyhalves are always important in what happens. They are also reflective of what is happening around them.
"But as good a player as those blokes are, they can't play the game by themselves... they are only as good as what is laid up for them," said Wallaby coach Robbie Deans on Sunday.
"If you present them with an opportunity, they will reinforce and reward you and that is what you saw in Dan Carter. He is a remarkable kicker of the ball and they were able to play him in field position with precision, which was quite remarkable," added Deans.
Besides being widely regarded as the best rugby coach in the world, there are fewer men in the sport who have had as close a look at the two best playmakers (Carter and Giteau) in the game as Deans.
While coaching the Crusaders, Deans mentored Carter from the day he came into the Super 14 franchise, and with the Wallabies this year, Giteau has played and beaten South Africa and New Zealand under the New Zealander.
The Western Force star is happy to shift all the pressure onto the Boks, but revealed that the Wallabies would not be caught off guard on Saturday.
"Definitely they will be fired up. They'll be looking to get a win at home and obviously there is a bit of pressure on them," said Giteau.
"It's going to be a much harder game than we've faced in the past. As much as the game in Perth was very intense and physical, I just think this game is going to be another step up," said the pivot.
As much as Giteau has flourished this season in partnerships on his outside (with Berrick Barnes) as well as on his inside (with rookie Test flyhalf Luke Burgess), this week he will have work to do getting up to speed with a new halfback.
"Berrick is a great player. He's got a lot of skills and I think they complement the way I like to play.
"As a combination I think we're improving each week and he's the sort of player you can easily slot into a combination with, because he is a selfless player who likes to play for others, and those are the type of players you need," he said.
Nevertheless, Burgess was a late withdrawal from the Wallabies squad, and Giteau will now have to hit the ground running with Sam Cordingley in the No 9 jersey in Durban.
Deans hinted strongly that the Reds halfback would start on Saturday, saying: "It probably wouldn't be a surprise to you that we'll look to experience in the first instance, I'm breaking protocol by saying that, but that's probably not surprising."
Meanwhile, the Free State Cheetahs flyer Jongi Nokwe, who had a good Test debut against Argentina earlier this month, could replace Bryan Habana if the latter is (as expected) ruled out through injury, but Conrad Jantjes could also be an option on the wing.
Mercifully for the Boks, there are few other serious injury woes. Loose-forward Danie Rossouw has undergone a lower back scan and hooker Bismarck du Plessis is nursing a few "bumps and bruises", but both should be available this Saturday.