THE BRITISH and Irish Lions will aim to end 16 years of hurt tomorrow by winning a Test series.

And assistant coach Graham Rowntree reflected the determined mood after today's final training session at North Sydney Oval by admitting he was "fed up’’ over that long barren run.

The Lions and Australia stand 1-1 after two games and are separated by one point and one try following nerve-shredding encounters in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Attention now switches to Sydney's 84,000-capacity ANZ Stadium - scene of England's 2003 World Cup final triumph against the Wallabies - for a final showdown that has drama and tension written all over it.

The Lions last clinched a Test series in 1997, beating South Africa 2-1, and they know pressure is intense for them to end that painful wait.

"You can talk about four years ago, eight years ago, 12 years ago. It has been 16 years since we have had something like this,’’ Rowntree said.

"Lads like (prop) Alex Corbisiero know the history of the Lions, know the magnitude of pulling on the jersey and know about the statistics. We are all fed up with the 16 years stat.

"A win (tomorrow) will deliver the series for the here and now. I am not too sure about the Lions' future, it's what we are desperate for now.

"Seeing how we've trained all week, crikey, we are ready for this battle.

"We saw the reaction from Australia (last weekend) after they beat us. Their captain James Horwill was crying. They threw everything at us and beat us by a point. We didn't get our game going, and we know that.

"There is loads more to come from us and the guys are desperate to win. This is grand final rugby, the last throw of the dice with everything to play for.

"We have to go out and give it everything. This is the biggest game of our lives, as players and coaches.’’ The Lions are minus their last three tour captains - Sam Warburton and Paul O'Connell through injury, plus the dropped Brian O'Driscoll - but head coach Warren Gatland will still send out a team containing more than 600 Test caps.

Two thirds of the line-up is Welsh, which reflects their European rugby domination during the past two years, with Ospreys lock Alun-Wyn Jones taking over as skipper. He is among six players who will have started all three Tests Down Under.

After winning a thriller in Brisbane two weeks ago, the Lions went into their shell last Saturday. They only lost 16-15, but offered little as an attacking force and were reliant on full-back Leigh Halfpenny's prodigious goalkicking for their points.

This time around, Gatland has changed half his pack and added the imposing physical presence of scrum-half Mike Phillips, suggesting that brawn - rather than brilliance - is the Lions' planned victory card.

"We've spoken about our game and how we can improve,’’ Rowntree said.

"By that, I mean in all areas - good quality lineout, a good quality scrum. We need to be playing intelligent rugby, playing in the right areas of the field.

"We lost two (lineout) throws by about an inch last weekend, but that is what you get at Test level. The lineouts were well-contested and close.

"Overall, there is stuff we have still kept up our sleeve, things we haven't shown so far. We want to force them (Australia) to defend and to be playing in their 22, rather than our own 22.’’ One area where the Lions dominated last weekend was the breakdown, and Australia have responded to that by recalling veteran flanker George Smith for his first Test match appearance in almost four years, although he would probably have played in the series opener had it not been for injury.

But the tourists also need a more consistent scrummaging display, which is an area that arguably ranks as match referee Romain Poite's forte in terms of consistency and interpretation.

"He (Smith) has been out for a long time and it will be interesting to see his match fitness,’’ Rowntree said.

"He is still very good technically and he makes good decisions on when to go into the breakdown. It will be a big challenge for Sean (O'Brien). I am hoping his (Smith's) selection is a reflection of what we brought to the breakdown last Saturday.

"We have refreshed ourselves for a couple of days - it was important to switch off after last week - and we've restocked the team and made some changes.

"We really want this game tomorrow, and the word I would use is 'desperate'.’’