Pierre Schoeman shed tears upon discovering he had made the cut for the British and Irish Lions’ summer of tour of Australia, given the burning desire within him to be part of the 38-man squad. However, the work doesn’t stop there for the Scotland and Edinburgh Rugby prop. Schoeman is now desperate to bring the very best version of himself to the “pinnacle” of rugby as he competes with Ireland’s Andrew Porter and England’s Ellis Genge for the loosehead spot in the Test front row. Schoeman watched the squad announcement at his Edinburgh home with wife Charissa before heading back to Murrayfield to speak to the press. It was fitting that he shared the moment with his partner, to whom the 31-year-old gives so much credit to his success in the sport. “It’s an amazing moment,” said Schoeman. “For me personally, it is my faith that has carried me through the whole time. Faith and a great wife. I always say that my name, Pierre, in French means rock – my wife is my rock, as well as god, and it was a dream that we believed in. So, we believed and we prayed and we hoped, and we worked every day. And if you have hope then you can inspired action and make it happen. “I was bracing for the moment, but it was exceptional and we shared some tears. No one preps you for that moment. All the sacrifice, then you get that reward – but this is not the final destination, I have a long road to climb. The hard work only starts now. You want to play in as many games and Tests as you can, and represent yourself well on and off the pitch.” Schoeman has been open about his ambitions to make the Lions squad over the past year and his performances for Scotland in the Six Nations helped convince head coach Andy Farrell to select him. The South Africa native revealed it has been on his radar for the past four years after watching close friends Duhan van der Merwe - who was also selected for this summer - and Rory Sutherland tour his homeland in 2021. “Probably like four years ago when it was Duhan’s first time, and Suz’s [Rory Sutherland] – a good friend of mine – as well,” continued Schoeman. “I just thought ‘go for Scotland but surely this has to be a dream’. If you don’t have a dream then I don’t think you will give your best every day to get better and just to add any value you can in abundance. “Even as a young lad and lassie playing sport, in rugby this is the pinnacle of the dream you can achieve in the UK – not as a team winning trophies but personally pushing up, up and up to reach the highest level you can get to. We know the sacrifices and its much better with the reward.” He is revelling creating a bond with his fellow specialists. “I think loosehead is a special kind of breed,” he said. “We’re all weird and different animals. I specially look forward to spending a lot of time with Ellis Genge and Andrew Porter and it will be amazing on and off the pitch.” And nothing will stop the Schoeman clan heading down under in July. “As many of us as can come, and we’ll just get one kilt, and the lads and lassies can wear it as a dress or a kilt,” he laughed. “But no, my wife Charissa will definitely go, even if she has to sell the caravan in Midlothian!”