Lions captain Gareth Thomas believes the battered tourists can still achieve "something pretty special" as their failed New Zealand tour reaches its finale.

Defeat in Saturday's third encounter with the All Blacks at Eden Park would confirm the Lions' worst set of Test results since 1983.

But Thomas insists it is not a time to throw in the towel, even though New Zealand hold a 2-0 series lead, having racked up 69 points and seven tries, including last week's 48-18 masterclass in Wellington.

"At the end of the day, we lost by 30 points, but it felt quite harsh, given the way we performed," said Thomas.

"If you go back, obviously, I would like to have won the first game of the series, but it is important now for the Lions that we go out on Saturday and try and get a victory.

"For us as players, we've bonded well and it has been an amazing experience. Yes, we want to do it for the Lions history, the jersey and everyone else, but also I want to do it for us as a group of people together.

"It would be great to give something back to us as players. The guys realise they can do something pretty special tomorrow, even though we have lost the series.

"By sticking our heads in the sand, there is no way we are going to achieve it. Our training has been a lot lighter this week, and no-one has backed down from anything.

"I think we learnt some lessons from the second Test. I think we have got to be a little more clinical and keep hold of the ball a little bit more, but I also feel we couldn't have done that much more either.

"I was proud of the way the guys played. At the end of the day, we were beaten by a better team, so we have got to go out with the same attitude. I don't think there is much more we can do, and hopefully that will be enough."

Full-back Geordan Murphy and wing Mark Cueto will make their Lions Test debuts in a reshaped back division that also sees Stephen Jones replacing fly-half Jonny Wilkinson and Will Greenwood taking over from centre Gavin Henson.

Henson and Wilkinson are both suffering from so-called 'stingers' in their shoulder/neck areas, while a list of other players who couldn't be considered because of injuries include Charlie Hodgson, Ben Kay, Simon Shaw and Gordon D'Arcy.

New Zealand haven't escaped injury-free though, with influential trio Dan Carter, Aaron Mauger and Richie McCaw all absent.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry has been forced to shuffle his cards as a result, with Luke McAlister featuring at number 10, skipper Tana Umaga moved to inside centre alongside Conrad Smith and Rodney So'oialo lining up at openside flanker instead of number eight.

Even allowing for those enforced alterations though, it would be a major surprise if the All Blacks didn't complete a clean sweep.

"It is going to be a big ask to play a team like the All Blacks in a Test arena like Eden Park," said Murphy.

"I wouldn't say there is nothing to lose for the Lions players. We are playing against a very strong side, and there is a lot of pride at stake.

"I have admired the way the All Blacks are playing. I haven't seen such a fantastic performance as theirs in the second Test for quite some time - they were awesome."

Lions boss Sir Clive Woodward has dropped wings Jason Robinson and Shane Williams, and Cueto is determined to seize the moment after waiting patiently for his chance.

"No-one can expect to be on that team-sheet, you've got to earn it and work for it," he said.

"To be selected is fantastic, the pinnacle of any rugby player's career, and it is no different for me. It is going to be a special occasion."

Cueto, who has scored eight tries in eight Tests for England, wants the Lions backs to show their capabilities in a series so far dominated by New Zealand's attacking glitterati.

"A lot of credit must go to the All Blacks," he added. "They have been absolutely outstanding, and it has been brilliant to be able to watch them play such good rugby. From our point of view, I think we can learn a lot from them.

"But we've got the ability, we've got the talent out there - the game-breakers - in our backs to do the same. We've got to go out with the mentality we can do that, and we will do that.

"Generally, we've not got as much ball as we would have liked, but that is testament to how good the All Blacks have been. Hopefully, we can change things around this weekend, get a bit of decent ball and show what we can do."

The Lions will do their utmost to bow out in some sort of style, yet such has been the gulf in class that New Zealand should still prevail, albeit by a much closer margin than 30 points.

Teams:

New Zealand: M Muliaina (Auckland Blues); R Gear (Canterbury Crusaders), C Smith (Wellington Hurricanes), T Umaga (Wellington Hurricanes, capt), S Sivivatu (Waikato Chiefs); L McAlister (Auckland Blues), B Kelleher (Waikato Chiefs); T Woodcock (Auckland Blues), K Mealamu (Auckland Blues), G Somerville (Canterbury Crusaders), C Jack (Canterbury Crusaders), A Williams (Auckland Blues), J Collins (Wellington Hurricanes), R So'oialo (Wellington Hurricanes), S Lauaki (Waikato Chiefs).

Replacements: D Witcombe (Auckland Blues), C Johnstone (Canterbury Crusaders), J Ryan (Otago Highlanders), M Holah (Waikato Chiefs), J Marshall (Canterbury Crusaders), N Evans (Otago Highlanders), D Howlett (Auckland Blues).

Lions: G Murphy (Leicester and Ireland); M Cueto (Sale Sharks and England), W Greenwood (Harlequins and England), G Thomas (Toulouse and Wales, capt), J Lewsey (Wasps and England); S Jones (Clermont Auvergne and Wales), D Peel (Llanelli Scarlets and Wales); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues and Wales), S Thompson (Northampton and England), J White (Leicester and England), D O'Callaghan (Munster and Ireland), P O'Connell (Munster and Ireland), S Easterby (Llanelli Scarlets and Ireland), L Moody (Leicester and England), R Jones (Neath-Swansea Ospreys and Wales).

Replacements: S Byrne (Leinster and Ireland), G Rowntree (Leicester and England), M Corry (Leicester and England), M Williams (Cardiff Blues and Wales), M Dawson (Wasps and England), R O'Gara (Munster and Ireland), S Horgan (Leinster and Ireland).

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa).

Touch judges: Stuart Dickinson (Australia) and Mark Lawrence (South Africa).