Friday 7 July 2017 08:24, UK
Kieran Read is putting personal milestones aside as he readies himself for a 100th Test cap in Saturday's British and Irish Lions decider.
The New Zealand captain will become the seventh All Black to reach that landmark but Read says his joy at Eden Park on Saturday will only come from victory.
Read has been captain since the end of the 2015 Rugby World Cup and led them to a record (now joint with England) 18 successive Test victories which was only broken by Ireland last summer.
But now he faces one of the biggest games of his career, with the series on the line in Auckland after the Lions rallied to win last Saturday's second Test in Wellington, making the most of Sonny Bill Williams' sending off to claim a 24-21 victory.
"The All Black captaincy is pretty special to me," Read said. "I certainly respect it and want to honour it the best I can and the best way to do that is to be myself.
"The biggest thing for me is to do my bit and help the team and get the win.
"We weren't really happy with the way we played last week so certainly we've got to make a change... the boys are pretty confident with what we've got in our group.
"It's a pretty exciting challenge. It doesn't get any better than playing at Eden Park in what is in a sense a final.
"As a kid you just want to play for the All Blacks. That was the dream and it's pretty awesome to be living the reality right now.
"It's a pretty cool place to be. I didn't expect to be in this position. I'll get my joy out of it by going out there and getting the win."
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