British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton (centre) is assisted from the field during their rugby union test match against the Australia Wallabies at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne on Saturday. (Reuters)

AFP/Melbourne

Injured Lions skipper Sam Warburton has been ruled out of Saturday’s deciding Test against the Wallabies in a major blow for the tourists, team officials said yesterday.
Scans revealed a “significant tear” in his left hamstring suffered late in the Lions’ 16-15 second Test defeat by Australia at the weekend. The Welsh flanker will now miss the series showdown in Sydney, the officials said. Irish veteran centre Brian O’Driscoll is now expected to captain the tourists in what will be his final Lions Test.
Warburton was helped off 13 minutes from the end of the second Test and remained in Melbourne after the match under the supervision of Lions team doctor Eanna Falvey to undergo a full medical assessment.
The loss of Warburton, their best player in the second Test, is a significant blow for the Lions as they strive to end a 16-year series drought.  
“It is incredibly disappointing to be ruled out of the tour through injury as we head to Sydney for the deciding match,” Warburton said in a team statement. “I wish the team all the best and hope I can play some part in the build-up this week.
“I am confident that the boys can finish the job off and secure the series win.”
The devastating news for the 24-year-old forward, who missed the Lions’ opening two wins in Hong Kong and Perth with knee ligament damage, comes as he found outstanding form in the second Test.
Warburton became the youngest Welsh Lions tour captain in Lions history when he was named skipper in May.
He led Wales to the 2011 World Cup semi-finals, only to be sent off in a narrow defeat by France in Auckland.
Warburton was sent off after only 17 minutes for a spear tackle on Vincent Clerc and received a three-week ban.
After he missed the early part of the last European season through injury, Warburton starred against Scotland and in the record 30-3 thrashing of England that lifted Wales to the Six Nations title.
The injury follows the loss of experienced forward pack leader and Irish lock Paul O’Connell. He suffered a broken arm in the tourists’ 23-21 first Test win over the Wallabies in Brisbane.
Ireland’s Sean O’Brien, highly regarded by the Wallabies after his starring display in a 2011 World Cup pool game upset over Australia, is in line to replace Warburton at number seven for Saturday’s third Test.
Wallabies senior back Adam Ashley-Cooper labelled O’Brien a “class act”.
“(Warburton) would be a huge loss but they have a lot of depth there in the back-row,” the 79-Test centre said on Monday.
“They’re certainly not lacking in any good number sevens.”
Lions head coach Warren Gatland is due to announce his starting line-up for Sydney on Wednesday.

Wallabies warn Lions their best is yet to come


Centre Adam Ashley-Cooper says there is more to come from the Wallabies in Saturday’s deciding Test against the British and Irish Lions.
The 79-capped back scored the only try late in Saturday’s gripping 16-15 second Test win over the Lions in Melbourne for the Wallabies to level the three-match series. Ashley-Cooper gave short shrift to suggestions from the Lions camp that the Wallabies had played their grand final in Melbourne.
“I think we’ve got a lot more in us, I thought the game (on Saturday) wasn’t of great standard,” Ashley-Cooper told reporters on Monday. “We made a lot of improvements from game one, but we certainly feel we’ve got a lot more improvements to make.”
The Australians made 15 handling errors to the Lions’ seven and conceded 14 penalties, 10 of them at the ruck.
Ashley-Cooper said wingers Joe Tomane and Israel Folau could be more dangerous if the Wallabies got more of the ball to them in the Sydney showdown.
“I think we didn’t allow them through our defensive line once. I think they had zero line breaks,” Ashley-Cooper said. “That’s a really good stat and a good reflection of how we work defensively. I think for us a lot of improvement can be made in the backs. “Possession was a bit of a issue. We need to hold onto the ball more. “We’ve got too many threats in the back-line to waste, so we’re hoping to get the ball into the wider channels this week.”
The NSW Waratah midfielder said he believed the Lions might be feeling the pinch mentally and physically at the end of a long northern hemisphere season but he was unsure whether that would be an advantage to Australia this weekend.
“They’ve had some physical encounters with all the Australian provincial teams, so no doubt they are feeling it mentally and physically,” Ashley-Cooper said.
“But we certainly don’t see that as an advantage or a distraction. We’ve got two games under our belt and we’re feeling really confident out of the win on Saturday night.”
Ashley-Cooper said skipper Sam Warburton’s injury loss would be a major blow for the Lions but labelled his likely replacement Sean O’Brien a “class act”.
“That would be a huge loss but they have a lot of depth there in the back-row,” he said.
“They’re certainly not lacking in any good number sevens.”