Russell warns Lions want to 'finish on a high' with a series whitewash
Now they are chasing the 100 per cent record Down Under that Farrell set as a pre-tour target – an achievement that has not been managed since the 1927 visit to Argentina.
Russell, who started the celebrations wearing a chocolate garland given to some of the players by Sione Tuipulotu, views the looming Sydney Olympic Park showdown as a must win occasion.
Read more:
'Everyone here has been gunning for this for their whole career. To get to the Lions is one thing and then to get a series win is another,' the Scotland fly-half said.
'This is my third tour and I've not won one so it's special to get this, bringing four nations together to be a family for five, six weeks.
'So to get the series is amazing, but the job's still not done yet. We need to go and try and finish it off. Even though we've got the series, we want to finish on a high. Everyone wants to play in that game.'
Russell has been a key figure in the Lions' first series triumph since 2013, forging an influential half-back partnership with Jamison Gibson Park that has been among the tourists' greatest strengths.
On current form the best fly-half in the game, the 32-year-old is finally getting the accolades that his talent deserves after piloting Bath to Gallagher Premiership, Challenge Cup and Premier Cup success in the recent club season.
'I've learned another style of rugby at Bath. It's a different style that's about getting control back because of the backs that we have to launch,' he said.
'It's changed the way I look at the game a little bit. On Saturday, we had a couple of calls on their 10 metre line and I'm looking at kick plays rather than launching straight away.
'I'm loving my rugby right now. Some of the boys might say it's the most confident I've been and it's my best rugby, which might be true, it might not.
'I've not won much in my career so to have won the titles at Bath and now this, it's amazing, it's so special.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
British & Irish Lions hit by Tommy Freeman injury scare for third Test against Australia
Wing Tommy Freeman is thought to have emerged as an injury doubt for the final British and Irish Lions Test against Australia. Freeman had been set to start on the right wing for a third consecutive time in Sydney having been again named in Andy Farrell's side as the Lions seek a 3-0 series whitewash. However it is believed the 24-year-old may have suffered a back injury, and did not train fully during the captain's run at Accor Stadium on Friday. Any potential absence could leave Farrell short of options on the right wing with Mack Hansen still working his way back from a foot injury. Assistant coach John Dalziel suggested that Freeman's absence from training was precautionary and down to the heavy workload he has endured on the wing during the tour and across a long campaign for club and country. 'He was just doing the light walkthroughs,' Dalziel said. 'Obviously it's the last days of the eight weeks where we've trained almost every day as well with the turnarounds, so his GPS numbers [were high]. Wingers will do a lot of high intensity running so he had the morning off. 'He's obviously got there doing the hard work. There's no easy way to be a winger when you are chasing kicks and balls up in the air in the way the first two Tests have gone, so it's quite easy for those guys to get their metres up.' Freeman has featured in 33 games across the 2023/24 season, including the two Tests in Australia so far and the Lions' defeat to Argentina in Dublin. He is one of a number of Lions stars to go past the RPA's agreed limit of 30 games in a season for all PREM players, with Maro Itoje and Finn Russell also exceeding the mark. If Freeman were to be ruled out, Hansen would be an option to come in along with the dropped James Lowe and Duhan van der Merwe. The Lions have named a six forwards to two backs bench split for the game at Accor Stadium, leaving Alex Mitchell and Owen Farrell as their only specialist backline cover. Dalziel believes, however, that the versatility offered by back row Ben Earl ensures sufficient options within the match day 23; the Englishman has already featured in the centres on this tour and was mentioned as a wing option by the coach. 'It's probably just a little bit around the weather and the way the game unfolds,' Dalziel explained of the bench composition. 'They've obviously got a lot of bodies back that they didn't have in Test one, a lot of size around their pack, so we know that at the end of a three Test series it is going to start to take its toll. We just want the guys to go out there and empty themselves knowing we've got a good bench. And we've also got versatility within that six forwards. We've had Ben Earl feature in the centre and he can play on the wing, we've got enough skillset around that six/two to cover anything.'
Reuters
44 minutes ago
- Reuters
Lions look to history, Wallabies to pride in series finale
SYDNEY, July 31 (Reuters) - The British & Irish Lions have history on their minds as they head into Saturday's third and final clash with the Wallabies determined to sweep a test series for the first time in living memory. No Lions team have even gone unbeaten in a test series since Willie John McBride's Invincibles in South Africa in 1974, when a controversial draw in the fourth match denied them the sweep. The Lions did sweep Argentina 4-0 in 1927 and also beat the Wallabies 2-0 three times in the 1950s and 1960s as part of losing tours of New Zealand, but you would need to go back to 1904 for the last 3-0 triumph on a trip solely to Australia. For coach Andy Farrell, however, the importance of the sweep is simply that it was something the Lions had committed to achieving as a squad before heading to Australia. "Hopefully (the tour) will be remembered for the type of rugby that we played and the way that we went about it together. That's it," he said after naming his team on Thursday. "We came here wanting to win a series. We've achieved that, but we've a massive responsibility to make sure that we finish this off with something that we promised ourselves." In keeping with that spirit, Farrell made only minor tweaks to his team for the Stadium Australia clash, bringing Blair Kinghorn in on the wing, James Ryan into the second row and an extra forward onto the bench. For Australia, Saturday is all about salvaging some pride after losing the second test, and the series, to a last-minute try in Melbourne last week. The Wallabies have proved they can play by "winning" the second half of the opening test 14-10 in Brisbane and taking a 23-5 lead after half an hour of the second in Melbourne. Coach Joe Schmidt said it had been difficult to pick the players up after the defeat but thought they should not ignore the progress they have made since he took over last year. "My belief is that 18 months ago, no one gave us a chance of challenging the Lions," he said. "(But) there's not been nearly as much between the teams as maybe people might have expected." Flanker Rob Valetini and two other starters from last week will miss the match because of injury but Schmidt made a choice to bring scrumhalf Nic White into the team for his last test before he retires from international rugby. The New Zealander denied it was a sentimental selection, citing White's kicking skills in what are expected to be wet conditions, but was certain he would get an emotional dividend from the rest of the team. "When you make that contribution over 12 years, it's not sentimentality, but it is a reality when someone is important to the group, the group want to support them," he said.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Key talking points as British & Irish Lions target Australia whitewash
Lions target clean sweep British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell (David Davies/PA) Andy Farrell's tourists enhanced their reputations by showing they have the character to match their quality after emerging from a desperately tight second Test with a series victory. Now they are determined to take their place in the Lions pantheon by ending their Australia expedition with a 100 per cent record. No Lions team have won every Test since the 1927 visit to Argentina, while the 1974 'Invincibles' who took on South Africa were the last side to complete an unbeaten tour. Final Test but full throttle The series may already have been won, but no mercy is being shown to Australia in selection. Rather than rotating in fresh legs to reward deserving squad members who just missed the cut, the established 23 have been retained with the hard grafting James Ryan and unpredictable Blair Kinghorn the only new starters. The selection for the Sydney Olympic Park clash reflects how much the Lions value the clean sweep and by Saturday night only 27 players will have been used in the Tests. Leading the pride Farrell has been reluctant to say if he wanted to take charge of the next Lions tour to New Zealand in 2029, but after masterminding Australia's demise with a game to spare, the job would be his to turn down. Apart from the success on the field, the Ireland boss has created a harmonious squad environment and is revered by his players and coaching staff. When the tourists talk about a united squad effort, they mean it. 'I just love everything that the Lions is about' said Farrell on Thursday and there is no better champion for the institution described by manager Ieuan Evans as a 'glorious anachronism'. Among the greats British and Irish Lions' Tadhg Furlong (Brian Lawless/PA) Tadhg Furlong reaches a special milestone on Saturday by making his ninth successive start for the Lions, becoming only the seventh player to do so but the first in the professional era. For three consecutive tours the remarkable Ireland tighthead prop has acted as the cornerstone of the scrum, as well proving his quality in every other department of the game. Adding to the achievement is that he has kept his place in the Lions' front row despite his season being ravaged by calf and hamstring injuries. When he returns home, it will be as a Lions great. The Wallabies' last stand Australia shot down critics questioning their place among the Lions' tour destinations by going within 51 seconds of winning a captivating second Test. It was the performance needed from the Wallabies to validate the tour but the question now is how much they have left in the tank after rising to the occasion so manfully in Melbourne. Star forward Rob Valetini has been ruled out by his calf problem, but offsetting that major blow is that Will Skelton is able to continue in the second row despite his recent calf injury. The Wallabies are underdogs, but avoiding a whitewash is all the motivation they need to cause an upset.
