Johnny Sexton believes the British and Irish Lions must deliver a "great" performance in their series opener against Australia this Saturday. 

Sexton, who is the assistant coach for the tour, made his Lions debut in Brisbane 12 years ago, going on to make a further five appearances for the team. 

Excluding the 1930 tour, which had only one fixture against Australia (the Lions lost 6-5), the Lions have won the opening Test in six of their eight series against the Wallabies. 

However, the Lions have won just three of their last 12 Test series (D1 L8), though two of those came against Australia in 1989 and 2013, which remains their most recent victory. 

Preparations for the Tour got off to a poor start after they slumped to a 28-24 defeat to Argentina in Dublin, though results have improved since landing down-under. 

The Lions have since won each of their five games in Australia. Only once in the professional era have they won their opening five games as the visiting side, which was back in 2009 when they won their first six in South Africa. 

That recent run of form, coupled with injuries for Joe Schmidt's team, have the Lions as overwhelming favourites going into the game, something Sexton was quick to dismiss. 

"We don't pay too much attention to the bookies' odds or what people are saying," Sexton told reporters on Friday.

"We're just concentrating on tomorrow and trying to put a great performance out there.

"Because that's what it's going to need: a great performance, not a good performance, to beat this Australian team.

"They're a proud nation, they're a top-class team, well-coached. And we need to get our best version of ourselves out there tomorrow."

Final run out before the 1st Test in Brisbane

Tomorrow: GAME DAY #Lions2025 pic.twitter.com/nsroJgi1EH

— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 18, 2025

The Lions got off to a winning start to their in 2013, going on to win the series 2-1, though they were helped by a slice of luck in Brisbane 12 years ago.

The condition of the Suncorp Stadium has been under the spotlight, with the venue also playing host to the Queensland Reds, Brisbane Broncos and Dolphins. 

And coming into the match, the turf had shown signs of heavy use, with Australia's Harry Wilson confident lightning would not strike twice after Kurtley Beale's fateful slip. 

Wallabies great Beale lost his footing during the run-up to a penalty kick in the final minute that, if successful, would have propelled his side 1-0 ahead in the series. 

"I think the occasion, the atmosphere, the crowds, that's the thing that always lives with you," Sexton said, recalling his Lions debut.

"Obviously, when Kurtley slipped and missed the kick, the euphoria that we felt.

"But again, it just shows the margins of professional sport and top-level sport like we're going to witness tomorrow.

"It's going to come down to something small like that, and hopefully we'll be on the right side of it."

Sexton added that the Lions were expecting a stern test against Australia, despite their opponents only playing one warm-up game, a 21-18 win over Fiji, ahead of the series. 

"They'll have been in camp over the last few weeks getting ready for us, and they had a game against Fiji a couple of weeks ago that they'll have learned a lot from," he said.

"There's you can talk about all the different ifs and buts and permutations, but ultimately, once you step onto the pitch, no one remembers it, and we just get on with the game."