Just reward for a happy hooker

YOU could never compare a hooker’s tale to a Cinderella story, but Shane Byrne’s journey from Leinster journeyman to a Lions Test cap comes pretty close.

Byrne was yesterday rewarded for sterling work over the last four weeks of this Lions adventure when he was named in the starting line-up to face the All Blacks at Jade Stadium, Christchurch, this Saturday morning.

"I think I'll have to pinch myself," Byrne said of his selection. "The only thing you can do on a tour like this is make sure you take your opportunities and you can sit back then, five minutes before they announce the test team, and say 'look, I've done everything I can do and I feel happy' and the rest is in the lap of the gods. That's the way I felt mentally just before they announced the team and I was a very happy man after the announcement, a very happy camper."