Shaw finally gets his call as Lions beef up pack

SIMON SHAW is ready for the launch of mission improbable tomorrow after completing a 12-year journey into the Lions Test team.

Shaw, believed to be the oldest Lions Test debutant at 35, will beef up a front five which contains just two survivors from the one ripped apart by Springboks scrum destroyer Tendai Mtawarira last weekend.

Only skipper Paul O’Connell and prop Gethin Jenkins remain as the tourists look to maintain Ian McGeechan’s 100% record as Lions head coach of second Test victories – 1989, 1993 and 1997.