Australia will have other ideas but Andy Farrell’s team are intent on sealing the clean sweep with a triumph that would stand the test of time
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s the 2025 British & Irish Lions prepare for their last hurrah there are distant echoes of former glories in the damp Sydney air. A highly respected English lock forward leading out a history-chasing team in the same stadium which staged the 2003 Rugby World Cup final? It is not the worst of precedents for Maro Itoje as he and his modern-day Lions await their third and final date with destiny.
Itoje and his squad would also dearly love to rekindle memories of another significant contest in this city. The decisive concluding Test of the 2013 Lions series was a classic example of a touring side saving its best until last, with a tiring Wallaby side eventually losing 41-16 after a certain assistant coach called Andy Farrell had urged the players to take their hosts to “the hurt arena”.
This time around, among other things, Farrell has been invoking the never-say-die ethos of the Irish boxer Katie Taylor, who was asked to record a few motivational words for the Lions. “Prepare to win by skill but be ready to win by will,” was Taylor’s pithy message and, despite the likelihood of wet conditions, Farrell is keen for his team to tick both boxes en route to a 3-0 series whitewash.
