Debuts don’t come much better than Dan Sheehan’s.

Not only was he handed the captaincy for his first ever British & Irish Lions appearance, the Ireland hooker also scored a try within two minutes, helped to steady the lineout and led the tourists to a 54-7 win.

No wonder he was thrilled at full-time.

"It was a really special day for me and a lot of other lads,” he said. "It was something special and something you watch growing up and wanting to be in this jersey.”

The Lions are up and running after scoring eight tries to beat Western Force in the first match of the Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2025.

After narrowly losing to Argentina in an 1888 Cup classic at Aviva Stadium last week, it was a much-needed victory and an impressive performance.

Sheehan got the ball rolling, as he collected a Finn Russell crossfield kick, exchanged passes with James Lowe and sprinted in to send the Sea of Red wild.

He is the third skipper to score a try on his Lions debut, after Tom Smyth v South West Districts in 1910 and Rob Wainwright v Border in 1997.

Additionally, his try after 95 seconds is now the quickest Lions debut try, beating Josh Lewsey’s v Bay of Plenty in 2005.

He then played a part in a team effort that saw Tomos Williams and Elliot Daly score two tries each, and Garry Ringrose, Joe McCarthy and Alex Mitchell all cross.

READ MORE: The Making of Dan Sheehan

It was far from plain sailing, especially in the first half. Western Force put the Lions under significant pressure, and scored a try through Nic White to level the score at 7-7.

“We are happy with that result, but there is plenty for us to work on,” Sheehan added.

“We started really well, but our discipline let them back in.

"We were inaccurate with their restarts. We are still getting used to each other and those new combinations.

"From here on in, it is coming thick and fast. Every team we come up against will be hungrier than ever."

Head Coach Andy Farrell remained calm at full-time, insisting there is plenty to improve on as they now look ahead to Wednesday’s game against Queensland Reds in Brisbane.

“There were plenty of learnings from last week and the same again from this week,” he said.

"When we got our composure in the second half we were able be nice and calm.

"Let's be honest, the Force took it to us. I thought they played a tough high-percentage game. They kept the ball really well and we kept them in good field position through our ill-discipline.

"It was a real good test for us in that first half, I am glad at how we composed ourselves at half-time and kept our composure throughout the second half. There are nine new caps there.”

Farrell also singled out winger Mack Hansen for praise, after the winger sprinted 50 metres back to stop a Western Force counter-attack.

"If you want to look what a Lion should do for his team-mates is when Mack Hansen went up and down the field and fought for his team-mates,” he said.

"That's the sort of spirit we want."