Saturday 3 June 2017 08:19, UK
Johnny Sexton has admitted it will be difficult to beat "world-class" Owen Farrell to the Lions No 10 spot for the Test series against New Zealand.
Sexton will get first shot at impressing Warren Gatland when he starts the tour opener against a Provincial Barbarians XV on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
Farrell is on the bench having been in recent club action with Saracens, while Wales' Dan Biggar will be given a chance against either the Blues or the Crusaders after Gatland indicated a wish to start all squad members across the first three games.
The Lions head coach has already said Sexton "needs to go out there and perform well", having been used sparingly by Leinster since the turn of the year.
And the Ireland fly-half, asked whether he faces a fight to dislodge Farrell, said: "I'd say so, yes; he's a world-class player.
"He's had some great success over the last couple of years, and obviously I know what that feels like having had the same success with Leinster, but probably four years previously.
"He's obviously coming in as favourite to start somewhere, so it will be up to me to try and prove that I can still play that role. But I can't get focused on that, or other players.
"I've got to concentrate on myself and bringing the best performances out of myself and see where that gets me. If it's not good enough well I can live with that, and hopefully it will be good enough.
"At the start of the season I struggled to get on the pitch [through injuries], but at the end of the season the amount I played was coaches' decisions. When I've been on the pitch I was happy with how I played, but at the end of the season I was fit and ready to go.
"Obviously it wasn't ideal [not to play more]. We had a quarter-final straight after the Six Nations, so the guys didn't want me to play before that and then didn't want me to play before the semi-final."
Gatland has the option of using Farrell at centre in the Test series, which begins on June 24, if he wants to accommodate either Sexton or Biggar.
"Obviously he's had some great success with England at 12 but also he's had great success with Saracens at 10," Sexton said. "So maybe they'll try him there, maybe they won't. I'm not sure.
"Like I said, I'll get a chance on Saturday to play 10 and I've got to try and make a first impression. All you can do is play your best and see where that gets you."
