One of the potential stars of the 2013 Lions tour insists Australia won’t be taking their end-of-year trip to the UK lightly.
Wallaby openside David Pocock is likely to be one of the Lions’ most prominent foes in two years’ time as he continues to challenge Richie McCaw for the title of the world’s best No7.
Pocock is about to perform on these shores later this month as Australia take on the Barbarians and Wales in London and Cardiff respectively.
And while the two-match tour comes at the end of a long hard season for Pocock and co, the Western Force forward says he and his team-mates aren’t thinking of the beach just yet.
''It's a short tour and we've got to focus on the two games as a team and then we get a rest,'' said Pocock.
''There was a lot of disappointment after the World Cup with our performance and we've had a couple of weeks to deal with that a bit more and do a bit of training.
''Now we've had a good week of training and are really looking forward to getting over there.
''As a team we'll change a few little things, but we've got to improve with what we're doing. We've got a few new guys in the squad who've added a bit of energy and that's been good.''
The clash with Wales at the Millennium Stadium will be the Wallabies’ final Test of a demanding campaign but it will also be the last international outing for Lions wing Shane Williams.
The 2005 and 2009 tourist and former IRB World Player of the Year will bring his Test career to an emotional end in front of a passionate home crowd, with Pocock and Wallaby wing Digby Ioane both expecting an impressive send off for the 34-year-old Osprey.
''Wales will be right up for it,'' added Pocock.
''It's Shane Williams' last Test at the Millennium Stadium and you couldn't get a better place to send off a player who's been magnificent over his career and has been one of the most entertaining players in the world.''
"It's a bit sad to see Shane retire, he's been up there for a long time, he's a legend," added Ioane.
"I was surprised how old he was, and to be still playing great rugby at World Cup level is pretty special. He's certainly a player who motivates me and a player I look up to.”
