Itoje challenges Lions to deliver major statement

A strong team will have the chance to consolidate their status with the first Test against Australia looming

- Robert Kitson

A verdict has finally been reached in the "mushroom murder" trial that gripped the whole of Australia, but the jury is still out on the touring British & Irish Lions. With the first Test looming next week, now would be a perfect time to issue an emphatic statement and the captain, Maro Itoje, is urging his well-stacked team to do exactly that.

There have been glimpses of some highly effective Lions combinations at various stages on their travels, even in defeat against Argentina back in Dublin when their attacking shape showed initial promise. What has held them back, aside from every Lions squad's perpetual search for cohesion, has been an occasional tendency to play too laterally rather than going route one and blowing the front door off its hinges.

With the bulk of their likely Test XV picked en masse for this final midweek fixture before the series which kicks off in Brisbane on Saturday week, Itoje and the management are now looking to rectify that against Australia's highest-ranked Super Rugby franchise. The Brumbies will be lacking eight Wallaby squad members but the ACT head coach, Stephen Larkham, has been quietly plotting how best to frustrate the Lions for several weeks.