- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Sam Warburton says his Welsh side’s string of heart-breaking losses to the Wallabies makes him even more confident the British and Irish Lions can end their 16-year rugby tour drought in Australia.
Wales have lost six Tests to Australia in the past 20 months, including four last year by a collective 16 points, but Warburton believes that record will work in the Lions’ favour.
The tour captain, to finally make his Lions debut on Saturday night against Queensland, said it was only minor lapses at the death which cost them three wins against Australia in 2012.
Most painful was when Kurtley Beale stole a 14-12 win in Cardiff with a last-minute try while Mike Harris kicked a last-play penalty goal for a 25-23 victory in Melbourne to clinch last year’s three-Test series in Australia.
The Wallabies were then lucky to follow up with a 20-19 win in the dead-rubber in Sydney.
“In 2012 we played them four times and three times it was by a whisker so we knew we did 99.9 per cent of things right to beat them,” Warburton said.
“Whether it was just a lack of discipline at the end for a three-point kick or the only system error we made in defence in the whole game, that was the difference really.
“I would have thought we would have learned from those experiences, and then you throw into the mix Scotland, Ireland and England – the best of those countries – and that would tip the scales in our favour.”
Warburton revealed tour manager Andy Irvine had set the 2013 squad the task to create history by becoming the first Lions team to win every match on tour, and they were reaching for the stars.
The last tour party to return to the United Kingdom with a Test series triumph was Ian McGeechans’s 1997 team.
The current Lions are expected to feature five Welshman in their backline and possibly as many as five in their starting pack when the Test series starts on June 22 in Brisbane.
To ensure he’ll be one, Warburton must hit the ground running when he lines up at openside flanker for his first match on tour against the Reds.
Compatriot Justin Tipuric and Irishman Sean O’Brien both impressed in their starts at No.7 in thrashings of the Barbarians and Western Force, while Dan Lydiate and Tom Croft also have strong claims for the No.6 jersey.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.