If patience is really a virtue then Simon Shaw has been on the path of righteousness for most of his rugby-playing life. Sixteen times he had worn the famous red jersey of the British and Irish Lions, but not once had he been given the honour of doing so in a full Test match.

If patience is really a virtue then Simon Shaw has been on the path of righteousness for most of his rugby-playing life. Sixteen times he had worn the famous red jersey of the British and Irish Lions, but not once had he been given the honour of doing so in a full Test match. Tomorrow, though, that situation will change.

Tomorrow Shaw becomes a "real" Lion. He wouldn't use the word himself as he talked of his selection for the second Test against the Springboks in Pretoria, but that is the conspiracy of silence on any Lions tour. They preach the gospel of unity and togetherness as they travel, but the most significant entries in the Lions history books record those who came home with a cap.

Shaw, who was among the Honest Tommy Toilers of the midweek side on the Lions tours to South Africa in 1997 and New Zealand four years ago, was told of his elevation to the Pantheon at the team hotel on Wednesday evening, and he admitted yesterday that he had to battle to contain his feelings.

"It was difficult to keep a smile off my face," he explained. "I know what it's like to be on the other side of the decision so many times so I was really concerned not to look smug. I had felt positive that I might be involved in some way as I felt I had done enough in the games coming up to this one."

Etiquette even denied Shaw the opportunity to punch the air in celebration when he returned to his room. "I'm sharing with Nathan Hines," he shrugged, an acknowledgment that he may well owe his place to the one-week ban that was handed down to the Scotland lock the previous day. In most eyes, the contest to add some muscle and menace to the Lions second row was a fiendishly close call between the two men, with many believing Hines may just have edged it.

Gerald Davies confirmed that no appeal had been lodged against the punishment on Hines' behalf. With a Test looming, the Lions simply couldn't afford to wait as the wheels of rugby justice - a term that probably flatters the procedure that ruled Hines out - to grind on any longer. It is an achingly harsh outcome for the popular Perpignan lock.

No-one felt that more than Ross Ford yesterday. Called into the squad late, as a replacement for Jerry Flannery, Ford is only too well aware of how fine the line can be between a successful tour and disappointment. On the same day that Hines found himself on the wrong side of it, the Scotland hooker learned that he had been awarded a place on the replacements' bench at Loftus Versfeld.

By his own admission, Ford had not had a good tour until he decided to pull his socks up ahead of Tuesday's 13-13 draw with the Emerging Springboks in Durban. "I knew it was about time I upped my game and got my finger out," said the 25-year-old Borderer. "And I managed to put in a half-decent performance that I felt quite pleased about.

"I think the trick was not to worry about it too much. You can think too much about things at times and I think I was putting myself under too much pressure doing that."

Ford's first action after selection was to phone his parents, Liz and Derek, at their home in Kelso. Since when, he has tried to be as relaxed as possible about his elevation, well aware that being on the bench is no guarantee that he will see action.

"You can't allow yourself to be overawed," he said. "It's just a game of rugby and it's mostly about getting yourself in the right frame of mind to go out and get one up on the opposition.

"But it's what you aim for when you start out playing rugby - to become a Lion. Barring winning the World Cup, it's the highest accolade you can get in the game."

Matthew Rees, who replaced Lee Mears in the first Test defeat in Durban last weekend, will play hooker in the starting XV, while Wales prop Adam Jones retains the tighthead spot he rescued from the struggling Phil Vickery. Overall, coach Ian McGeechan appears persuaded that might is right again, his conviction nowhere more obvious than in the choice of Sale behemoth Andrew Sheridan as the replacement prop.

It would probably take a DNA test to convince many that Shane Williams, the diminutive Welsh wing, is a member of the same species as Sheridan, but they will be together on that bench as Luke Fitzgerald has been promoted to the starting line-up while Ugo Monye drops out of the 22 completely. Rob Kearney takes over from the injured Lee Byrne at full-back in what is now an all-Irish back three.

Byrne, who suffered a foot injury and was replaced during the first Test, sustained an injury to his left thumb in training yesterday and has been ruled out of the rest of the tour.