Maro Itoje: 'We are all trying to strive to being the best team we can be and get that 3-0 win'

Henry Pollock may have been viewed as being brash with his remarks at the Adelaide Oval but as the Lions began preparations for the first Test in earnest on Monday in Brisbane, his England pack-mate and captain had no issue with his comments.

STRIVING FOR WHITEWASH: Tour captain Maro Itoje has endorsed Henry Pollock’s assertion that the British & Irish Lions can whitewash the Australians in the upcoming Test series, suggesting it would be wrong to think any differently. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Tour captain Maro Itoje has endorsed Henry Pollock’s assertion that the British & Irish Lions can whitewash the Australians in the upcoming Test series, suggesting it would be wrong to think any differently.

Pollock, the youngest and least experienced player in the 2025 Lions squad at 20 years old and with just one England cap, has attracted headlines in Britain, Ireland and Australia after post-match comments following the 48-0 victory over an AUSNZ Invitational XV in Adelaide last Saturday that a 3-0 series win over the Wallabies was “definitely on the table” for the tourists.

The Northampton Saints back-rower, who is in the selection conversation for the blindside flanker vacancy in Andy Farrell’s team for the first Test in Brisbane this Saturday, had said: "We want to come here and be the best Lions team ever. We have been talking about that loads and 3-0 is definitely on the table, hopefully.

"We are all trying to strive to being the best team we can be and get that 3-0 win."

Pollock may have been viewed as being brash with his remarks at the Adelaide Oval but as the Lions began preparations for the first Test in earnest on Monday in Brisbane, his England pack-mate and captain had no issue with his comments.

“I think that’s definitely the ambition,” Itoje said. “It would go without saying, 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 – that would be a bit odd. That’s definitely the ambition.

“I’m sure if you were to ask… you said Will Skelton was here earlier… or any other Wallabies players, I hope that’s their ambition too, to win all the games.

“Look, obviously we want to win every game we play, that goes without saying. We want to win, as to wear this badge is a tremendous honour and we want to go there and win. But all we’re focused is this Saturday. The other two games will look after itself. We just want to get a good result this Saturday.” 

With another back row Test hopeful, Ben Earl revealing that becoming the best Lions team ever was a collective ambition of the 2025 touring squad, Itoje said his players had the potential to achieve that objective. All that was left was to match those words with actions on the pitch, starting this Saturday.

“We have the capability to do that – it is on us now to deliver. 

“And it’s on us to deliver over the next three weeks, over these next four games. If we want to do that, if we want to be that, then it’s not about talking about it, it’s about being about it. The performances over the next three weeks will ultimately be the judge of that.” 

Itoje, on his third Lions tour having faced the All Blacks in 2017 and the Springboks four years later, confirmed there had been change in atmosphere within the Lions camp now Test week had got underway and the intensity outstripped any national team build-up.

“We know there's going to be a big step up. As we get closer and closer to the game, we'll sharpen and sharpen. There's a healthy tension in the squad because we know this is what we've been working towards.

“It’s just the grandness of it, the occasion. It’s different to a Test match at Twickenham, it’s different to a Test match in any other part of the world, different to a World Cup. The fans go crazy, streets will be lined with people in Lions shirts. You won’t be able to go anywhere without Lions fans and people being there.

“It’s just a little bit different in that respect. But it’s also brilliant, it’s also an opportunity that one should relish, an opportunity that we as players should look forward to. We should walk into it. It’s one of the great opportunities and events for us.” 

Both captain and assistant coach John Dalziel on Monday revealed the inspiration the tourists were taking from the Lions memory boards, one for the forwards, another for the backs, created by the players at the suggestion of the coaches.

“The whole idea being that it's a link to history,” Itoje said. “When you wear this badge and represent the Lions, you have a responsibility because you're representing all four nations. You're also representing all the amazing players who have played and worn the jersey and who've been successful in the jersey. The idea being that it's now our turn, it's our opportunity, and it's up to us to take it forward.”