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Maro Itoje has no trouble pinpointing areas Lions must improve
By Neil Fissler
British & Irish Lions skipper Maro Itoje admits that the tourists aren’t the finished article despite clocking up another win after seeing off the ACT Brumbies 36-24 in Canberra.
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Itoje says that there is still plenty more to come from his side, who only have one more warm-up game against Invitational Australia & New Zealand before the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday week.
The Saracens and England lock points out that the Lions are still holding back quite a bit, but says that the Wallabies, who scraped home 21-18 against Fiji on Sunday, will be doing the same.
“It’s a step forward. I have played a lot of rugby, and you want to be part of winning sides. It’s a good feeling, and we know that we are not the finished article. And we know we have to get better and we have to improve,” he said.
Two of the areas that he says they need to improve are at the breakdown, a strong area for the Wallabies, but again, against the Brumbies, proved to be a weak area for the tourists, as was the restart.
Lions boss Andy Farrell says that the Wallabies will know from a quick analysis of the games they have played it will be an area they can target, and Itoje acknowledges it’s not good enough.
“We just need to be more accurate. We just need to remove the contest away from the referee and the opposition. So that is an area of the game we will continue to get better at.
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“We are comfortable with it, but it’s a hotly contested area, and naturally, I’m sure the Brumbies will feel slightly aggravated at some of the decisions as well.
“But it’s rugby and the breakdown is one of the big contest areas of the game, and it’s an area because of the way we attack, they are going for it. And the same applies to restarts; that is an area of the game where we will improve,” he added.