Sculthorpe profile Sculthorpe gets Lions captaincy

The Lions beat the Kangaroos in the group stages last year only to slump to a demoralising 44-4 defeat against the world champions in the final.

"We are over that mental block that we've had these last few years," said the new Great Britain captain.

"We are confident in our ability to do a job and hopefully beat these men."

The Lions lost their first game against the Aussies in the inaugural Tri-Nations competition but bounced back to beat them 24-12 at the JJB Stadium.

But all hope of silverware evaporated within the first 40 minutes of the final at Elland Road.

Britain trailed 38-0 at half-time as the Kangaroos ran riot.

He was a shoo-in for the captaincy and I think it is something he has deserved because every time he plays for Great Britain he is awesome Jamie Peacock on Sculthorpe

"It was a bad 80 minutes of rugby," said Sculthorpe, who was named as Andy Farrell's successor as Lions skipper on Tuesday.

"We went into the game fully confident we could do a job and we didn't do it. Fair play to Australia, they were absolutely phenomenal that night, but we were poor.

"We fell one game short last year and we aim to go one better this year."

Meanwhile, Jamie Peacock says Sculthorpe was the obvious choice to take over from Farrell.

"He is one of the most inspirational players I have seen," said Peacock, who has been appointed as Sculthorpe's vice-captain. "I have played with some top players and he is probably in the top two.

"I think he was a shoo-in for the captaincy and I think it is something he has deserved because every time he plays for Great Britain he is awesome."