Henry Pollock: Lions star says '3-0 is definitely on the table'

Henry Pollock has revealed the British and Irish Lions have set their sights on whitewashing the Wallabies as they target an unbeaten tour of Australia.

The Lions enter the first Test bolstered by an eight-try demolition of an AUNZ Invitational XV, with Andy Farrell scheduled to name his team for the Brisbane opener on Thursday.

Farrell’s tourists are strong favourites to win the series and Pollock, who is competing for a place on the bench at Suncorp Stadium, insisted they were aiming for greatness.

“We want to come here and be the best Lions team ever. We’ve been talking about that loads and 3-0 is definitely on the table,” Pollock said.

“Whether you’re playing or not playing in the Tests, we’re all just trying to strive to be the best team we can and get that 3-0 win. If that’s playing or not playing, then I’ll adjust and be the best team-mate I can be.”

Team Form

Last 5 Games

48 - 33

46 - 19

26 - 19

25 - 7

15 - 19

22 - 12

26 - 29

19 - 24

19 - 27

0 - 48

1

Wins

4

4

Streak

1

15

Tries Scored

22

-63

Points Difference

54

3/5

First Try

4/5

2/5

First Points

3/5

3/5

Race To 10 Points

3/5

Pollock – at 20-years-old, the youngest player in the squad – has been rooming with a veteran of four Lions expeditions in Owen Farrell, who made his first appearance of the tour off the bench against AUNZ.

The England back row was just eight when Farrell’s odyssey with the elite of British and Irish rugby began in Australia 12 years ago and he has been mining the veteran playmaker for advice.

“It was good to get chatting to him, learning from him. He’s an amazing player and an amazing person as well,” Pollock said.

“We’ve had a few conversations. He’s got kids, so we talk about his kids, but I’m sitting there going ‘I’m still 20’!

“He’s been great and I’m learning so much from him. He’s so experienced in this game and in this kind of environment.

“It’s still quite cool but at the same time, in this environment, we’re all striving for the same thing.

“We want to come here and dominate as a team and he’s been amazing since he’s come in. He’s been on top of everything.

“To be able to bring him off the bench and have his experience and his words has been amazing. You can definitely see what he brings on the pitch.”

The Lions have come through a bruising schedule of four matches in 11 days and while they remain unbeaten since arriving in Australia, the injury count is growing with Tomos Williams and Elliot Daly forced home, Garry Ringrose and Luke Cowan-Dickie ruled out of the first Test and Blair Kinghorn a major doubt for the opener.

Now the schedule settles down to whole weeks spent in the Test host cities Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, enabling the squad to train properly for the first time in a fortnight.

“You have to be mentally strong as well as physically strong. Your body is the reason you get picked and you have to stay fit,” said Pollock, who withdrew from the side that faced the New South Wales Waratahs because of a calf injury.

“With these short turnarounds, you learn a lot about what you can do and what you can’t do in terms of gym, running and extras and making sure that on the pitch you’re 100 per cent where you want to be.

“You’re just trying to get as fit as you can for these games. With the short turnaround, it’s just always trying to be available for the coaches and saying ‘I’m fit, I’m fit’. It’s something different and I’ve loved the experience.”