SCOTLAND star Ross Ford has revealed his joy at making his British and Irish Lions debut in the 28-9 third Test victory over South Africa.

SCOTLAND star Ross Ford has revealed his joy at making his British and Irish Lions debut in the 28-9 third Test victory over South Africa.

Ford became the first Scot to pull on a red jersey since Gordon Bulloch in the final Test of the disastrous New Zealand tour in 2005 when he replaced Welsh hooker Matthew Rees in the first half as the tourists salvaged some pride after narrow defeats in the first two matches.

The victory was the Lions' first Test win since they beat Australia in the opening encounter of the 2001 tour and Ford admitted his pride in playing an impressive part in a dominant pack.

He said: "It was great to get out there, to get that length of time on the pitch and be part of a Lions Test win. It was a really good experience. If you're on the bench it is always good to get some game time, whether it's five minutes or 15, but it's definitely better to be able to get out there and have that kind of extended run.

"I felt I was able to get into the game and really feel a part of it. The line-outs went pretty well so obviously I was pretty pleased with that. I had worked on that all week and knew within myself that I could throw in as well as anyone.

"So I was quite confident going into the game and, as far as the pace was concerned, it wasn't all that different - just like another international really. But the atmosphere inside the stadium was fantastic and it was great to be able to experience that."

Despite suffering agonising defeats in Durban and Pretoria, Ian McGeechan's squad restored credibility and stature to the Lions.

Three Test matches of shuddering intensity, drama and often spell-binding brilliance mean the 2009 Lions have left their paw print on rugby history.

The fact victory was achieved in record-equalling fashion against South Africa, matching the 28-9 second Test victory of Willie John McBride's 1974 tourists, left a sweet taste.

However, it will be Geech's fourth and final tour as head coach and his players did him proud, refusing to take a backward step against unquestion-ably the most physical inter- national team in the world.

And Lions doctor James Robson believes the shape of rugby players will have to change with the balance between power and skill now out of kilter.

He said: "I think we are reaching a level where the players are too big for their skill levels. I think they have become a little too muscle-bound and too bulky. I hope you will see changes in the physical nature of a player that brings them back a little in order to speed up the game and introduce a higher level of skill."

However, McGeechan and manager Gerald Davies deserve enormous credit for they way they oversaw a tour of inclusion rather than exclusion, and the players bought into it to a man.

They trained hard and they played hard, but there was also time for the often-neglected social side of touring and to enjoy some beers with your mates down the pub.

To mould a team capable of challenging the reigning world champions over a three-Test series in barely a month is - at best - mission improbable. The fact Paul O'Connell and company went so desperately close to achieving it shows what a special bond was created.

It was the shortest of all Lions tours - just 10 games - which challenged players, coaches and support staff to hit the ground running, and then keep going when the going got tough.

Invariably, it did, such as the first half of the first Test in Durban when a dominant Springboks side threatened a landslide win, and during the gut-wrenching aftermath of defeat at Loftus Versfeld following Morne Steyn's injury-time penalty that cruelly ended the Lions' Test series hopes.

Those who painfully observed events in New Zealand four years ago perhaps wondered whether the Lions had been damaged beyond repair.

That was more of a travelling circus than a rugby tour, but the Lions are back - and rugby owes an eternal debt to the class of 2009.