Popped ribs, punches and ''brutality'' - if ACT Brumbies lock Sam Carter needs advice before taking on the British and Irish Lions, he only needs to ask his father David how vicious the tourists can be.
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David Carter - a former Wallabies No. 6 - still remembers being caught at the bottom of a ruck in a game for NSW 'B' in 1989 and the Lions players licking their lips at the site of a helpless opponent.
The result was two popped ribs and a painful exit from an ''uncompromising'' match that the Lions won 39-19.
But 24 years later and with the baton passed to son, David has some simple advice for Sam going into the Brumbies' clash with the Lions on Tuesday: ''Give as good as you get.''
''He's big enough to look after himself. I'm not saying [the Lions] were dirty back then, but the game has changed and they were pretty uncompromising,'' David Carter said.
''He knows he's going to be in for a fair challenge … Sam's probably safer from a set of boots getting him [at the bottom of a ruck], but I don't know if he'll be safer.
''The bloke who replaced me on the field followed me off … we ended up having [former Wallabies coach] Eddie Jones playing breakaway by the end.''
David is a six-time Wallaby and went on the 1989 tour to France and Canada.
Sam was born in the same year, just two months after the Lions finished their series against the Wallabies.
In 2001 David and Sam sat in the stands together in Sydney as the Wallabies held on for a historic victory and series win when former Brumbies and Test lock Justin Harrison played a crucial role in the dying stages.
Lions tours have become a tradition in the Carter family and now it's up to Sam to get revenge on the visitors.
''I've never really asked [dad] about his game … the only thing he said about it was that the Lions tried to bash them,'' Carter said.
''To get the opportunity to play them 12 years later is a real honour.
''Hopefully we can soften them up, or run them around a little bit, so they are a little bit exhausted for that first match.''
The Brumbies-Lions contest will be the last tour warm-up match before the three-Test series against the Wallabies begins.
When the two teams met in 2001, the Brumbies almost caused a monumental upset at Canberra Stadium.
But the side that boasted Adam Freir, Jim Wilson, Peter Ryan and Pat Howard lost 30-28, with the visitors scoring a converted try after the siren.
''If you want to play a side like the Lions and hope to beat them, you've got to sacrifice your body. There will be sacrifices and probably blood … the Brumbies will see that,'' David Carter said.
