THE LIONS should be about the collective and breaking down national barriers. The Power of Four and all that. But Irish rugby was entitled to take another selfish and parochial time-out yesterday. As expected, Gerald Davies read out a Lions’ selection containing a post-World War record of seven Irishmen to top off a year that has yielded the Grand Slam, the Heineken Cup, the Magners league and the Churchill Cup.

It truly is Ireland’s time and save for winning a World Cup you wonder if there’ll ever be a season like it again.

It is Ireland’s biggest representation for 62 Lions Tests, stretching back to the third Test in South Africa in 1938. On that occasion there were eight Irishmen in a side captained by Ulster’s Sammy Walker that beat the Springboks 21-16 in Cape Town.

Considering Jerry Flannery, Stephen Ferris and Tomás O’Leary would have been genuine starting and/or bench contenders but for being ruled out through injury it is all the more remarkable.

Furthermore, Ronan O’Gara and Donncha O’Callaghan had their claims too, with O’Gara probably frustrated at missing out again, although at least he is on the bench, whereas O’Callaghan has been demoted from the 22. They are unlucky, but possibly for missed tackles and conceding penalties respectively.

In all there are five changes, with the injured Lee Byrne, whose tour has been ended by a freak thumb injury in training to compound his foot strain, Ugo Monye, Alun-Wyn Jones, Phil Vickery and Lee Mears all demoted – with all but Jones dropping out of the 22.

Byrne, who will return home to Wales and won’t be replaced, said on the Lions website: “To be ruled out of the tour with just two matches left is devastating.”

Rob Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald, Simon Shaw, Adam Jones and Matthew Rees are promoted to the starting line-up, the latter three to beef up the scrum and tight five, and Fitzgerald to sharpen the cutting edge out wide. Kearney’s form might have earned him a starting place anyway. Similar thoughts are behind the promotion of Ross Ford, Andrew Sheridan and Shane Williams to the bench.

Lions head coach Ian McGeechan shed little on the reasons behind the changes other than repeating there were several close calls, but he agreed the three changes to the tight five were to sort out the embarrassments heaped upon the pack by the Springboks’ destructive scrum and maul last Saturday in Durban. He also spoke about being “tactically more flexible”.

It looks a beefier, harder, more balanced and better equipped side for the huge task ahead in Pretoria tomorrow. There’s an all-Welsh frontrow, two English and three Irish in the back five, a 9-10-12 Welsh axis, with an Irish outside four pivoting on the outstanding Jamie Roberts-Brian O’Driscoll midfield partnership. Pity it wasn’t picked last week.

Whether it’s good enough to win a far more daunting game remains to be seen, and the Irish will carry the can now more than anyone else. Alongside half a dozen Welshmen, this makes for 13 Magners League players in the starting line-up.

Asked about leading Ireland’s post-War record representation, O’Connell bowed a little sheepishly – in as much as ever does – and put the achievement in some kind of context: “I didn’t know that fact, actually. I knew there were a lot of Irish boys on it but it’s a big thing. I suppose I remember the tour in ’97 and there were four guys in the pack and that was a massive thing as well.

“I remember back then Miller, Davidson, Woody and Paul Wallace, so yeah, it’s a big thing for me. I’m very proud, I’ve been very proud the whole way through and hopefully we can produce a big result on Saturday.”

If this season doesn’t inspire 15-year-old Paul O’Connells, nothing will. There’s a little bit in this for everybody. The English representation may have been halved to two, but they will celebrate Shaw’s first Test appearances after 16 Lions matches, seven on the ’97 tour here, four in New Zealand as a late call-up four years ago, and another five on this tour. Great things come to those who wait.

A dozen years ago he was a regular in the “Saturday” team but was usurped by Jeremy Davidson’s performance on the Tuesday before the first Test, against the Emerging Springboks. Shaw, who was surrounded by the largest media contingent and for the longest amount of time in the Conference Centre across the road from the squad’s hotel in Cape Town yesterday, admitted: “My biggest regret is I was so too complacent in ’97.”

Shaw admitted he has been picked primarily because of his renowned work in both offensive and defensive mauls. He’s also a top bloke, though a nagging doubt remains that his three most effective efforts on tour have been as a last-quarter impact replacement.

Wales can also recall old glories of famous frontrows when Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees and Adam Jones become the third frontrow from one country to start a Test match for the Lions. In 1955, Billy Williams, Bryn Meredith and Courtenay Meredith played in all four Tests in South Africa. They were emulated in the second Test in 1968 by an all-English combination of Mike Coulman, John Pullin and Tony Horton.

Asked where he was when the 1997 Tests unfolded, the 28-year-old Jones – who will face down Springboks scrum destroyer Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira from the start – paused for a moment and declared: “Down in the rugby club . . . having a few underage beers.”

Commenting on his battle against Mtawarira, Jones said he was told by Vickery to “make sure you stuff him”.

“Everyone can see he is a big strong bloke. He hasn’t been playing there that long so I will have to pull any tricks out of the bag to stop him pushing me backwards,” said Jones.

Defensive coach Shaun Edwards has described the Loftus Versfeld stadium as the toughest in the world for an away side and when this was put to McGeechan, who has never lost a second Test as a player or coach – he smiled and said: “It’s not going to be easy is it, but we know that. You wouldn’t be involved in the Lions if you didn’t think you were getting the biggest challenges in the biggest parts of the world and that’s what we’re getting. I wouldn’t expect or anticipate anything on this tour.”