Simon Shaw: 'I can't punch the air – it wouldn't be right to be smug'

"It's been a hell of a journey," said Simon Shaw yesterday. He was not exaggerating. Twelve years ago, the peripatetic young second-row forward – born in Kenya, raised in Surrey, schooled union-wise in Bristol – missed out on a Lions Test place against the Springboks just when the world and his wife expected him to cruise into the elite line-up. He promptly spent the next decade missing out on other things: England caps, Lions selection, World Cup tournaments, you name it. But everything comes to he who waits, as Shaw has recently discovered.

Eighteen months ago, he ticked the "World Cup final" box when he played for England against the Springboks in Paris. Four years previously, in 2003, he had received a winner's medal without setting foot on the field. "It's in a drawer somewhere," he said recently. "I haven't seen it in ages." Even though the 2007 medal was one of the losing variety, he at least felt he had earnt it. "I wanted to be a part of something special and I was, even though we came up short," he remarked.

And now this: a starting place for the Lions in a must-win Test against the Boks, almost a whole sporting lifetime after missing out on the self-same prize in the self-same country. "I was positive I'd play some part this weekend," he said yesterday. "I thought I'd done enough coming off the bench in a couple of matches, and felt I might be given that kind of role this time. To be starting is a fantastic thing. I'm chuffed to bits, to tell you the truth, but I can't start punching the air, can I? I've seen the other side of this business so often, it wouldn't be right to get all smug about it."

He must feel this to be an overdue reward, even so. "You feel that way every time you're not picked," he replied, "and every year, you reflect on the knockbacks you've received and set about reassuring yourself that you're still up to it. It's down to you alone, because there's no one else around to build you back up. Sure, there are friends and family supporting you, but they're not the ones doing the selecting. Ultimately, everything ends up in your own head.

"But that's all part of a sportsman growing older. When I was young, I didn't set goals because I was riding a wave. Maybe that was part of the reason why I missed out in '97: a touch of complacency, too many assumptions. Now, I have a much sharper appreciation of where I'm at. Appreciation grows as the years go by and the opportunities become more limited."

Shaw has always argued that criticism of his line-out work, a key part of his game before the legalisation of lifting but less central to his act since, has been overegged. "People talk about the last World Cup final," he said, referring to the comprehensive wrecking of the England line-out by Victor Matfield, the Springbok middle jumper. "We had our problems that night, but if you watch the tape you'll see I didn't lose any ball at the front." If he can keep a clean sheet tomorrow while bolstering the Lions pack in the key areas of scrum and maul, he will more than justify his call-up.

"The important thing on this tour is that it reminds me of 1997 in terms of the togetherness of the squad," he said. "It's the knowing that people are looking after your back, that they're prepared to go the whole hog. That's the thing that makes you feel you can win in an environment like this."