The British & Irish Lions kicked off their tour at Ellis Park on Saturday.
With social distancing and other Covid-19 protocols the order of the day, it will be a sterile tour. But that doesn't mean characters won't come to the fore and headlines won't be grabbed.
Here are six tourists likely to be most talked about.
MARO ITOJE
The talismanic Itoje can inject verve and vigour and those around tend to follow. The Lions will need pacesetters like him.
Itoje will have to command the air and boss collisions while his leadership will come into sharper focus with Alun Wyn Jones ruled out.
Itoje, however, needs to recapture the form that made him a force on the Lions' last tour of New Zealand.
He will perhaps feel he has unfinished business with the Springboks after having to settle for silver at the last Rugby World Cup. He will be a handful.
DAN BIGGAR
On the cusp of 500 Test points, Biggar's boot might determine tight margins on this tour.
He has been involved in close skirmishes with the Boks in recent years.
The Welshman has been on the winning side in half those Tests, but South Africans will be eager to point out none of those wins came when it really mattered.
Biggar will be a talking point even before the tour reaches its business end. Whether he can keep Finn Russell out of the Test team will likely generate early headlines.
KYLE SINCKLER
Often described in the northern hemisphere as the most dynamic prop in the game, Sinckler might have a point to prove.
Despite the pre-match hype his last meeting with the Boks was brief, and his initial omission from this squad surprised many.
He will be keen to impress coach Warren Gatland and press for a Test start.
Given how the Lions back-pedalled in the opening Test in 2009, we need no reminding their scrum has beef with the Boks.
CONOR MURRAY
For a player who doesn't normally wear the armband, captaining the Lions will be a tall order. It is arguably one of the most fraught gigs. Murray will do well to emulate John Dawes, Willie-John McBride, Finlay Calder, Martin Johnson and Sam Warburton who steered their teams to series success. His task is even greater when you consider that Dawes (1971) was the last backline player to lead the Lions to a series win.
The redoubtable scrumhalf will need trusty lieutenants, especially upfront.
DUHAN VAN DER MERWE
The former SA Schools and SA under-21 player was a talking point even before Gatland named him in his group to tour SA.
A hulking and committed frame helped the Scotland wing surge to prominence.
Despite his position he too is drawn to the ball and the Boks will almost certainly have to pull out all the stops.
His physical dimensions, compared to that of the player he will run into most, Cheslin Kolbe, will in itself attract an engrossed audience.
It is likely to be one of the enduring battles of the series. This Van der Merwe is no joke.
OWEN FARRELL
Many South Africans still feel Farrell's reckless challenge on Andre Esterhuizen in the end-of-year Twickenham Test in 2018 didn't get the appropriate sanction.
That of course wasn't the only time Farrell's tackle technique has come under scrutiny.
Farrell of course doesn't need distant negative sentiment to still be part of the general discourse.
Some may view him as a pain in the neck but Farrell is perennially in the action.
Even before he sets foot on the playing surface, there will be much conjecture about where he should feature in the Lions' midfield. Either way, and if nothing else, Farrell will command attention.
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