Maro Itoje calls for ‘more ruthless’ British and Irish Lions approach as Test series looms
British and Irish Lions skipper Maro Itoje and head coach Andy Farrell.
British and Irish Lions skipper Maro Itoje identified the famous touring side’s attacking play as an area which can still improve after they sealed a 36-24 victory over the Brumbies in Canberra on Wednesday.
Although Ollie Chessum, James Lowe, Marcus Smith, Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier crossed for tries, Itoje urged the Lions to be more clinical on attack as the opening Test against Australia in Brisbane is just 10 days away.
The tourists have won all four their matches against Australian opposition on their tour but after notching emphatic triumphs over the Western Force and Reds, they were less convincing against the Waratahs and Brumbies.
Wednesday’s victory over the Brumbies saw the Lions making 10 handling errors while Chessum, Lowe and Van der Flier all had further tries ruled out after they had crossed the whitewash.
Itoje was understandably frustrated and said his side, who next face the AUNZ Invitational XV in Adelaide on Saturday, must be more ruthless when they play the Wallabies on July 19.
‘We probably wanted to be a bit more clinical’
“It is a step forward,” he said after the win against the Brumbies. “Obviously, we left a few tries out there. We probably wanted to be a bit more clinical.
“We invited a lot of pressure back on ourselves. We want to be a bit more ruthless in that regard.
“We are happy with the win. Rugby is a tough sport, so you take the wins when they come. We know there is loads more, we know we can be better. That is the exciting opportunity for us.
“We have got another tough game on Saturday; then the real fun begins. We just need to get better, tighter, we will learn from our errors and move forward.”
Lions head coach Andy Farrell believes there is still plenty of room for improvement for his charges. “It was the same as the other games, there was some good stuff, especially in the first half. There was some nice, flowing attacking play that was played at a good tempo,” he said.
“On the flip side, we kept them in the game. We dominated field position, but we kept them in with a sniff, especially when you get over the line three times and do not convert them.
‘We just need to do our job properly’
“Congratulations to the Brumbies, they came out of the blocks and stayed in the fight until the last minute. We just need to do our job properly. We have to look after ourselves first and foremost.
“The learnings from today and the last game is what is at the forefront of our minds. Someone landed on Blair’s [Kinghorn] knee. He is walking around so hopefully it is not serious.”
