'We are not playing a pub team' - Lions captain Maro Itoje dismisses Australia frailty talk
The British & Irish Lions have a chance to wrap up the series in front of an estimated 90,000-plus crowd at the iconic home of Australian cricket and Aussie Rules football having blown the Wallabies away in the opening half of the first Test in Brisbane last Saturday on the way to a 27-19 victory.
A repeat at the MCG would deliver a first series win for the famous touring team since 2013 and seventh in nine tours Down Under stretching back to the original 'British Isles' visit to Australia in 1889.
That history resonates for tour skipper Itoje, who has quite the Lions backstory himself having first pulled on the red jersey in 2017 in New Zealand, quickly becoming a fan favourite in his battles against the All Blacks.
This Saturday's match will be the England captain's seventh consecutive Lions Test appearance having started five and come off the bench in the final, deadlocked encounter of the drawn 2017 series. He does not entertain the idea that Lions players need help focusing on the task ahead.
'When you wear this jersey and represent the Lions you know it comes with huge honour and a sense of responsibility and we know we are not playing a pub team,' Itoje said.
'The Wallabies are a proper team, I played them last year in the autumn and we lost to them when we were supposed to win. They are a team that can punish you if you don't approach the game properly.'
The Saracens second row acknowledged that a Lions Test brings something different from within into play compared to other big days for club and country.
'I guess these are the sorts of games, these are almost the reason why you want to play rugby. You want to play rugby and be a part of these huge occasions, huge games with maybe a little bit of jeopardy on the line, but more so the opportunity to do something special, the opportunity to be a part of something special, the opportunity to do something that lives long in the long in the memory, and create special memories with your friends and colleagues and family.
'So I try and focus on the opportunity. Then I also just try and focus on the process of what I need to do to get myself in the right space.
'Naturally, given the magnitude of the game and the weeks, there's a higher level of focus. As a professional athlete, there's always focus to what you do, but there's… not all games are equal.
'Not all games mean the same thing. And this game, last week, these games aren't equal to normal games of rugby. They're special. So naturally, there's a higher level of focus. It requires a higher level of intensity and a higher level of diligence to what you want to do.'
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