The main Lions deficiency identified by Maro Itoje

Maro Itoje hopes to lay to rest the ghosts of the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa by winning the second Test in Melbourne next week to nullify the need for a series-clinching third Test.

The Saracens and England lock, who four years ago was a member of the Lions side that won the first Test against the Springboks 22-17 before losing the next two and the Covid-19-affected series.

The Lions skipper admitted that the second Test match will be a step up for Andy Farrell’s side, who were served notice of what the Wallabies are capable of following their strong late finish at Suncorp Stadium.

“Today was a high-intensity game. Next week will be a higher-intensity game, so the challenge for us is to raise ourselves, our game and our performance because we know Australia will definitely do that.

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“We want to win the Test series, and we get that opportunity next week, and we only get to do that by winning. As Big Faz (Andy Farrell) said, absolutely delighted to win and absolutely delighted to get this Test series off to a 1-0 start.”

Itoje was quick to point out that even though he was happy with the performance, there are still plenty of things for the Lions to work on before the second test at the MCG, especially their decision-making.

“I think today was a good performance, particularly in the first half. When you play Test match rugby at this level, everything doesn’t go your way, and that was probably the story of the second half.

“I think that we were just not accurate with our decision-making, and when you are not accurate with your decision-making against a good team, you tend to put yourself under pressure.

“And I think that is probably what happened in the second half. It puts us in a good position, we definitely aren’t complacent or comfortable,” he added.