Has he done enough? All will be revealed on Thursday, but the feeling is that Dylan Hartley's man-of-the-match performance against Argentina has edged him ahead of Tom Youngs in the race to be England's hooker against the All Blacks on Saturday. If it has, he will win his 50th cap starting against the land of his birth.
"It would be ironic, wouldn't it?" he said. "But I wouldn't look too much into that. I don't think I've started against the All Blacks before [he did in 2009], but any player in the world wants to play against them. They're seeded No1 at the moment, and if England want to get to No2, which is a challenge we've set ourselves, we need to win next week."
Hooker has become a position of strength for England, to join pretty much all of those in the pack, plus scrum-half and full-back. If Hartley does make it at Twickenham, England will field Youngs, the Lions' starting hooker for Tests one and two against Australia, on the bench. For Hartley that would be ironic, coming less than six months after two mumbled words at the same venue cost him the chance to push for a Lions Test spot when he was sent off for verbally abusing the referee Wayne Barnes during Northampton's Premiership final defeat by Leicester.
Youngs's extraordinary work rate has suited the way England have played of late and how the Lions played in those first two Tests. For the third Test, the Lions felt they needed to add an extra dimension in attack, so Richard Hibbard was selected for his heavier ball-carrying and scrummaging.
If England choose Hartley, it will be testament to his threat as a ball-carrier and his accuracy at the lineout. Against Australia the week before, England's lineout was wobbly; against Argentina, bar one early steal, it was slick.
"I knew that was why I was brought into the team, so I wanted to back that up. To put a proud unit like Argentina in distress at the maul, even scoring off one, was satisfying, and to come away with 90% at the lineout in the first half was also good. When I got the nod this week, they talked to me about energy and leadership, and just my form for my club. It helps playing in a good team, which shows when you've got five Saints in the side."
That may yet be six, if Alex Corbisiero starts next week and the others retain their places. Certainly, the scrum was one area the Pumas dominated in the first half, when they were otherwise outplayed. "Jeez, they're heavy," said Hartley. "I think they're 10-second scrums, where they just keep the ball in there. I don't know where it is. You just feel their weight bearing down. But we came good there, and if you look at the Rugby Championship they put everyone under pressure at scrum time."
Hartley should know before the rest of us whether he or Youngs has won the race. "You don't really get told, but if you get given a bib on Monday or Tuesday and are told to run these lineouts you get a fair indication. But I'll take either. Just to be involved in this team at the moment … We're going in the right direction."
Nevertheless, that direction will have to take a sharp upward turn when they gather for those training sessions. What we have seen so far is unlikely to cut it against the All Blacks, especially after the indignity they suffered at the hands of England this time a year ago. "Their recent form has been fantastic. No doubt about it, they'll be after revenge, they're a proud team. We put a few points on them last year, and they'll be coming here for, what's the word – payback," Hartley said.
