Leicester Tigers flanker Tom Croft will leave South Africa feeling proud of his involvement in the British & Irish Lions tour, whatever the result of tomorrow's third Test in Johannesburg.

For a man who was not even chosen in the initial 37-man party, the back-rower's impact on tour has been immense, and he has become one of the leading lights to emerge from a group of men who have given their all for one of sport's greatest institutions.

His story is an amazing one.

Just 18 months ago, he was struggling to earn a place in the Tigers first team and had only made 24 starts for his club at the beginning of last season.

Tomorrow, he starts the third Test in Johannesburg from the bench, as one of the best loose forwards in the world.

And a tour with the best that the British Isles has to offer will have a lasting effect on him – despite the series defeat.

"For the boys to be together for just six weeks and to try achieve what clubs try and achieve over a year is a big achievement," he said.

"There is that bond within the team that means we work hard for each other and we almost got there. We have taken a lot of positives out of the tour.

"That last half hour in the first Test was world-class and we have shown we can get results against the best team in the world.

"Of course, we are disappointed because our objective was to win the series.

"But we stuck tight together and our spirit was never questioned.

"We are very strong as a group and the boys have shown that they will put their bodies on the line for each other. Players respect that."

Croft's omission from Ian McGeechan's initial touring party was greeted with widespread bemusement from media and players alike who thought that his lightning pace would be ideally suited to the hard South African grounds.

But when Irishman Alan Quinlan was banned for making contact with the eyes of Leo Cullen during the Munster v Leinster Heineken Cup semi-final, Croft was drafted in.

It looked like a straight battle with another Irishman, Stephen Ferris, for a starting shirt in the Test matches as both men put in strong cases during the warm-up matches. Croft was particularly outstanding in the 74-10 drubbing of the Golden Lions in which he scored a superb try.

But when Ferris tore medial knee ligaments, Croft became a shoe-in and he took full advantage of his stroke of luck.

If there were doubts in the minds of some of his detractors before he went, there can be few now.

Nobody has ever questioned his ability in the line-out and his searing pace in open play. His two tries in the first game in Durban were testament to his finishing abilities.

And any doubts over his ability to clean out rucks and get nasty when required where dismissed after he mixed it with the world champions' best players during the first two Tests.

The sight of him squaring up, nose-to-nose, with Springbok giant Bakkies Botha in Pretoria was a testament to the extra edge he seems to have found on tour.

He will emerge at Welford Road in a Tigers shirt again in September a better player for his experiences.

"We've been tested massively in the provincial games and come through them all," he said.

"We worked so hard to get it right in the Test series but came up just short.

"We have shown that we can compete with the best in the world, but this is a sport where small margins can make a massive difference."