A diverse crew of Australians and New Zealanders are primed to light a fire in the camp of the British and Irish Lions, coach Les Kiss says.
Kiss has 17 players with international caps in his 23-strong AUNZ Invitational XV squad to meet the Lions on Saturday night.
Watch every match of the 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour live and on-demand via Stan Sport.
The teams' Adelaide Oval encounter comes just one week before the Lions' first Test against Australia in Brisbane.
"There's a lot of interest there at the moment," Kiss told reporters on Thursday of the Lions' unbeaten tour.
"But if we got a win, yeah, it would definitely light things up, wouldn't it, a bit further.
"The win would be great for us but we have already talked about making sure we don't get lost in that.
"We know that we have the capacity and the type of player to do that. We just need to make sure we do what we do well.
"And if we do that well, why not ... a loss to the Lions, that certainly changes the way that the tour looks, for sure."
The fixture is the first time since 1989 a combined Australia and New Zealand team has played the Lions.
Kiss has named David Havili and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto as co-captains while driving the significance of the game.
"We certainly want them to make sure that they feel it's their team," he said.
"It's the most unique opportunity - this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, it's 36 years.
"So we're not going to let that pass us by in terms of recognising that opportunity."
Kiss downplayed the brief build-up for his squad with only three training sessions plus a captain's run to prepare for the tourists.
"This has been a slow build but there is certainly a lot of ambition and a lot of belief in the group already, you can feel it," he said.
"They want to go out there and show the best of themselves.
"Each individual has a story of their own, they have got their own ambitions and opportunities beyond this.
"So it's important we all get on board to build something that we believe is solid and strong.
"And that starts with the connection piece, the cohesion, putting some simple structures in."
