QUIET, undemonstrative and diplomatic, John Smit, the Springbok captain, probably watched the theatrical naming of Paul O’Connell to captain the 2009 British & Irish Lions with mild amusement. One of the key justifications for O’Connell over Brian O’Driscoll was the oft-repeated theory that Ian McGeechan wanted a looming, Martin Johnson-type figure to look down on and dominate the Springbok captain. That is what Johnson was supposed to have done when his Lions shocked the Springboks in 1997.

The Springbok skipper then was Gary Teichmann, a much-respected figure who would probably be tickled by suggestions that he had been cowed by the dark, brooding and thunderous brow of Johnson as they met to toss the coin. It makes for a nice angle but I have serious doubts that O’Connell will strike fear into the heart of Smit when the 13th Lions come face to face with the Springboks.

Smit, injuries and other mishaps permitting, will go into the series with 81 caps (a record for a Springbok forward), 55 as captain, during which time he would have stared into the eyes of pretty much anybody who captained an international side in the past decade.

Physically, he will have to look up to O’Connell, a fellow redhead, but I doubt he will be intimidated. Smit is South Africa’s most experienced captain. He has already led the team to a World Cup win and victory over the Lions will mark him as the greatest Springbok leader.

Given the timescale between Lions safaris, great Springboks such as Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana know they will have only this one chance. They are dying for it. Many of them have stated that the lure of the Lions is their reason for playing on after the heady days of France 2007.

Smit has been at pains to warn his players and his team’s invariably overheated supporters that they must have respect for the Lions, but the country expects revenge for 1997 and South African rugby is in a far better place than it was 12 years ago. The only obvious similarity is that the tour then, as now, came two years after a Springbok World Cup triumph. Everything else is different and favours South Africa.

The last time around, Francois Pienaar, the hero and captain of South Africa’s 1995 World Cup triumph, had been eased out before the Lions arrived. So had many of his team. The aura had been lost in any case because in 1996 South Africa were beaten in a home series by the All Blacks for the first time. By 1997, coach Andre Markgraaff, under whom there had been a few promising signs, had been shamed and ditched for making racist remarks.

Furthermore, the coach brought in to replace Markgraaff, former Springbok wing Carel du Plessis, was in way over his head and struggled throughout the series. The team were unsettled, there were many new caps but no reliable goalkicker and they lost the series 2-1 despite scoring nine tries to three. Percy Montgomery’s goalkicking was hit and miss, while that of Neil Jenkins of the Lions was often deadly accurate.

Twelve years on and the climate is different. The World Cup-winning squad is intact with the exception of Montgomery, Os du Randt, the prop who was such an inspirational figure for so many followers, and Butch James, who tore a cruciate knee ligament this month while playing in the Guinness Premiership for Bath. CJ van der Linde, who is currently injured, has been playing for Leinster in the Magners League. Otherwise, the attrition rate has been remarkably low.

Coach Peter de Villiers, who succeeded Jake White, has his eccentricities but had the good sense to leave well enough alone. He is backed by two relatively young coaches in Dick Muir and Gary Gold, the latter with experience in Britain, but they have a wisdom beyond their years. De Villiers has also placed great faith in the leadership of Smit.

Some of the Springboks are world-class. Matfield is an incomparable ball-winner and Botha, his partner as lock for the Bulls and for the Springboks, has a belligerence that could be called Johnson-esque. The back row trio of Burger, Juan Smith and Pierre Spies is awesome.

Behind the scrum there is the sheer class of Fourie du Preez at scrum-half.

Such is the pool of talent available outside - Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie, Habana, Ruan Pienaar and JP Pietersen - that the outrageous rugby talent of Francois Steyn may not even earn a place in the starting team. Compared with the Springbok class of 1997, this is a pool of brilliance, brimming with what these days is called the X-Factor.

There are question marks in the team - they stand above the positions of tight-head prop and fly-half. There is also anxiety over goalkicking, especially with memories of the disaster of 1997. But by far the biggest concern is the modern bogey of player fatigue, and questions as to what exactly the playing and travelling involved in the punishing Super 14 might have taken out of the Springboks by the time they face the Lions.

McGeechan wanted the tour to be massive, and he is going to get his wish. But O’Connell’s men will find it far harder than Johnson and his first professional Lions in 1997. The momentum is with South Africa and so is the evidence of all recent results. Last year, under Peter de Villiers, the Springboks scored their first victory over the All Blacks in Dunedin. They also ran up record scores against the Wallabies and against England at Twickenham.

There are no mysteries for the Springboks, either. The Lions are familiar to them from the regular autumn tours to Britain and Ireland. What remains to be seen is whether McGeechan’s fourth Lions squad contains the chemistry that 12 years ago produced such a good side.

South Africans vividly remember the likes of the bulldozers Tom Smith and Paul Wallace, the feisty Keith Wood, Jeremy Davidson playing out of his skin, the great back row of Richard Hill, Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio, and Jeremy Guscott’s silk complemented by the explosive power of Scott Gibbs. There was the rugby league toughness of Alan Tait and Allan Bateman, there was Jenkins rising to the biggest challenge of his career.

Are the Lions class of 2009 approaching that standard? Somehow I think not.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING IN SOUTH AFRICA

“There are two superb goalkickers, which should be a lesson for the Bok selectors...There is a nice blend of size, experience, speed and skill.” Craig Ray, Cape Times

“The Lions have chosen some huge props, big, hard grafting second row men and plenty of tough, fearless back row forwards. The intention is clear.” Cape Argus

“If South Africa loses a Test, let alone a series to these plodders, then it will be an embarrassment to the coaching staff that needs to haunt them for eternity. Which of the visitors would you select ahead of the South African starting XV? O’Driscoll, perhaps? No more.” Mark Keohane, South Africa’s top rugby blogger

“I am not into saying that the Lions have no chance but what they try the Boks can counter that. If the Lions go for a massive pack and very physical forwards, there’s no reason South Africa can’t pick bigger and more physical guys.” Jake White, South Africa’s 2007 World Cup-winning coach.

“The Lions are bringing a knife to a gun fight.” Jon Cardinelli, of the leading SA website, Keo.za,

Dan Retief is a South African rugby writer who has covered Lions tours since the 1980s