Maro Itoje backs up Lions star who caused a stir with comments down under

Maro Itoje has told his Lions to make their own history starting this weekend when the Test series against the Wallabies kicks off in Brisbane on Saturday. The skipper was on the front in Queensland, backing up Henry Pollock's claims the tourists are after a 3-0 win, which has not got down well with the locals down under.

And Itoje has also stood behind Ben Earl's assertion these Lions want to be known as the best ever by the time they fly back to Britain next month.

The Lions have a memory board in their team room with pictures of famous past players and wins and Itoje has urged them to get themselves on the wall for the next batch of tourists who will travel to New Zealand in 2029.

The captain said: "3-0 is definitely the ambition, no one ever wants to lose a game. It would be a bit weird if one of my team-mates said we want to win two and lose one. If you were to ask Wallaby players, I hope that's their ambition too, to win all the games.

"We have the capability to do that - it is on us now to deliver over the next three weeks. If we want to do that, then it's not about talking about it, it's about being about it. The performances will ultimately be the judge.

"Weeks like this, are what you as a British and Irish rugby player dream of. This is an amazing opportunity, this is an amazing honour for us all to be here."

Itoje, 30, was relatively late to rugby, only starting to play aged 11, and the first Lions series he was glued to was the epic 2-1 defeat to the Springboks 16 years ago. He has been reading up on previous tours though and reckons the memory board can inspire his side in the weeks to come.

"The whole idea is that it's a link to history," he added.

"When you wear this badge to represent the Lions, you have a responsibility because you are representing all four nations, but you're also representing all of the amazing players who have worn the jersey and been successful. The idea is that it's now our turn, our opportunity and it's up to us to take it.

"The first Lions tour that I was properly invested in as a fan was the 2009 tour to South Africa. I was obviously gutted that they lost the first two Tests, but the final game was amazing with the story around some of the set-piece struggles and making it right. That was amazing. I started researching and looking into the previous tours. Jason Robinson in 2001, the 2005 tour wasn't great but the 1997 tour was."