British and Irish Lions

Sir Clive Woodward's men kick off their tour on June 4 with a match against Bay of Plenty and will play three Tests in New Zealand.

Fly-half Carter was outstanding in the All Blacks' Test victories last Autumn and Fitzpatrick is convinced he can offer the hosts a new attacking dimension when Britain and Ireland's best players travel to the southern hemisphere for what promises to be a thrilling series.

"He (Carter) is the full package," Fitzpatrick said.

"He runs well in traffic, kicks exceptionally well, and does something a bit different to the other people on the team.

"He also gets the backs going, and having (captain Tana) Umaga outside him is a real boost because he's another key player and his leadership will be vital.

"It will be very interesting to see Carter come up against (Jonny) Wilkinson or (Stephen) Jones. They're actually all pretty similar.

"The way that Jonny is coming back is I'm sure very pleasing for everyone.

"People are saying that the All Blacks are going to target him, but it's going to take more than Jonny Wilkinson to beat New Zealand.

"Carter versus Wilkinson should be a tremendous match-up," he added.

Assistant coach Graham Rowntree says The British & Irish Lions will have to be fully focussed to avoid a potential banana skin when they face The Barbarians a week today.

Three former British & Irish Lions will line-up against an England XV at Twickenham Stadium on Sunday as the Barbarians warm-up for their showdown with the 2013 tourists in Hong Kong next week.

Lions skipper Sam Warburton says the lessons he and his Welsh colleagues learnt in Australia last summer will stand them in good stead for their return visit with Britain and Ireland's elite next month.