It had a little drama in its own right, what with Willem de Waal banging over the conversion from the touchline to earn the Emerging Springboks a draw that they greeted as if victory. On a foul night of swirling wind and driving rain it was a sweet finish.
For the Lions this was a last chance for something grander than shared spoils. The result didn't exactly thrill them, but the players looked flat, as if they knew they had not gatecrashed the selection party for the second Test in Pretoria.
To leave the field was apparently a plus. Who, for example, would Ugo Monye replace when he came on, Luke Fitzgerald or Shane Williams? It was the Irishman, whose tackling may have earned him a place in the Test team. Williams was left to keep trying and trying, and the harder he tried the more his candidacy lost its sheen.
Nathan Hines went off, to be replaced by Simon Shaw. Hines had been revved up all night and must have been pleased, the only obstacle to a Test upgrade being that Shaw came on, stole a line-out, made a tackle, won a ruck and generally put himself about. Hines or Shaw? They'll probably stick with Alun Wyn Jones.
Phil Vickery came on and chased away a few demons, earning a scrum penalty, kicked by James Hook, and tackling hard. This was not a thrust for re-selection, just a chance to set the record straight after his last outing.
Who else? Ross Ford had his best game by a mile but his odds are long enough to be interplanetary. Riki Flutey was good in defence but what are the chances of him breaking up the Roberts-O'Driscoll pairing? About the same as Ford playing at scrum half at Loftus Versfeld.
Keith Earls had some good moments but he won't play in a Test. Every good thing he does is a few pence tucked away in the bank for future use. To re-emerge after his opening day in Rustenburg is a positive result.
The draw was less encouraging. The rain and the wind were miserable. As the midweek Lions trudged off the field they must have known that most of them have had their final game.
