Saturday, 6 July 2013 00:00
-
- {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sydney, Reuters: The British and Irish Lions are desperate to win the decisive third test against Australia and end 16 years of failed attempts to claim a series victory, assistant coach Graham Rowntree said in Sydney on Friday (5 July).
Describing Saturday’s (6 July) Olympic Stadium showdown as the biggest moment in the career of every member of the touring party, Rowntree was not about to give an inch in the final few hours of the pre-match psychological battle.
Gone was his normal easy conversational style and the former England prop was all business as he brusquely rebutted any negative stories attaching themselves to the Lions this week.
He denied Twitter rumours that replacement centre Manu Tuilagi had suffered an injury and Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll was in line for a dramatic return to the team he was controversially omitted from on Wednesday (3 July).
O’Driscoll, he said, had been “exemplary” since being axed, ending that line of questioning by describing it as “Wednesday’s story”.
“Brian’s (O’Driscoll) been exemplary, as the true professional he is. I mean, that was Wednesday’s news, we announced the squad, we move on. Brian’s been fine with that, he’s been leading the group still and helping the lads prepare,” Rowntree told a news conference at North Sydney Oval.
Little has separated the sides in two intense and dramatic matches, the Lions winning by two points in the opener in Brisbane and the Wallabies by a single point in the second in Melbourne last week.
For the tourists, the last 80 minutes of their five-week trip is a do-or-die chance to mark their 125th anniversary tour with a first series triumph since the 1997 visit to South Africa.
Recent history Down Under is on the side of the Wallabies, with the Lions in 1989 and the hosts in 2001 having ridden the momentum of second-test victories to clinch 2-1 comeback series wins.
“I think we saw the reaction from Australia last week after they beat us, especially their captain, Horwill, who was crying after the game. They threw everything at us in that game, and beat us by a point. We really didn’t get our game going. We know that, we’ve looked at that a lot this week, particularly third and fourth quarter we didn’t get going. There’s a load more to come from us. The guys are desperate to win.
This is grand final rugby, last throw of the dice. Everything to play for,” Rowntree said.
Rowntree continued the tourists’ courtship of the referees over the last two tests, describing Frenchman Romain Poite as “one of the best referees we’ve got up north” and even offering the assistance of his players in officiating the scrum.
“He’s known for his set-piece accuracy, so I’m looking forward to working with him tomorrow night,” he said.
Visiting coach Warren Gatland, already without injured captain Sam Warburton and stalwart lock Paul O’Connell, has put much of his faith in the players he has coached to Six Nations success for Wales and a Lions record-equalling 10 of them will take to the field at the start of Saturday’s test.
