As if to showcase the sheer size of their props, South Africa positioned Frans Malherbe and Trevor Nyakane side-by-side for yesterday’s press conference ahead of Saturday’s third Test decider.

The Series began with Malherbe (125kg) covering Nyakane (121kg) from the bench, only for the Springboks to gamble by reverting the latter prop back to loosehead for last weekend’s second Test win.

It may have been a risk but it was one that definitely paid off, as Nyakane made a big impact later on, in a position that he has hardly played in recent years.

Malherbe, on the other hand, was promoted to the starting XV last weekend, and he too had a big impact in helping the Boks get parity at scrum time.

Both men are outstanding operators and seeing them sitting alongside one another was a timely reminder of the scale of the challenge that the Lions face.

Perhaps that is why Warren Gatland has shaken-up his front-row with Wyn Jones coming in at loosehead for his first appearance of the Series, while Ken Owens gets the nod at hooker.

The Boks may have been forced to reshuffle their back-five in light of Pieter-Steph du Toit’s shoulder injury, but their unchanged front-row and the power they have in reserve makes them a ferocious proposition.

For Malherbe, the key to South Africa’s scrum power has been the back-five, rather than the front-row. As we all know, though, it’s a combination of all eight forwards combining as one.

“I think we have grown a lot,” Malherbe said of his side’s scrum.

“A lot of credit has to go to our back-five. They bought into our plan. It’s obvious, but without them we wouldn’t be able to generate power.

“Secondly, I think the relationship between the props and the front-rows, we are learning a lot from each other. We are working together to make the team better.

“I know it may sound a bit cliché, but the example for me was, coming off the field on Saturday and seeing the impact the bench made. It was really a big satisfaction for me.”

Malherbe will face a different proposition in Jones compared to Mako Vunipola, who drops to the bench for the final Test.

Gatland had viewed Jones as first-choice loosehead, only for the Welsh man to pick up an untimely injury. Tadhg Furlong remains at tighthead.

“All of them are world-class players,” Malherbe insisted.

“We have to focus on ourselves and know how we play. We need to make sure that we are sorted and that our system is functioning 100pc.

“You saw the impact Trevor (Nyakane), Vince (Koch) and Malcolm (Marx) made at the weekend. It feels to me that everyone is at the same quality level. Personally, I feel the focus is on us and our prep for this week.”