The Wallabies never fully recovered from Will Genia's early error © Getty Images

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Wallabies scrum-half Will Genia concedes his mistake in the opening seconds of the series decider against the British & Irish Lions set the tone for the disappointing 41-16 loss.

The Lions were gifted the perfect start to the game when Genia grassed the kick-off, placing the Australia immediately on the back foot.

Loose-head prop Alex Corbisiero crossed for the first of four Lions tries moments later to establish an early lead the Wallabies were unable to wrestle away.

"It was just a mix up, I called for the ball to catch it and then (Kane Douglas) came across as if he was going to get it," Genia said."I thought he was going to catch it. I just let it go and went for it at the very last minute. I probably should have been louder with my call and caught it."

After trailing 19-3 in the first half, the Wallabies fought back bravely either side of half-time to close to within three points. But the diminutive playmaker admits his side never fully recovered from his early error as the tourists piled on three late tries to seal an emphatic 2-1 series victory.

"I think that probably set us up for the result when you look back on it," he said. "Knock-on, they get scrum ascendency, then they get the short-arm penalty. They take a quick tap and score an early try and we're chasing the game right from the start."

The world's best scrum-half admits the error will haunt him, given he won't get another shot with the next Lions tour in 12 years.

"Obviously I'm gutted," he said. "You only get one crack at this unless you're George Smith, and you're going to have to live with it, live with missed opportunities. We did really well I think just before the half-time break. We got ourselves a try and got back into the game and then right after half-time got a bit of momentum, got it back to 19-16 and from then on it just went downhill. They put us to the sword. They scored a lot of tries out there, got a lot of points."

Asked how the series loss would affect the Wallabies' upcoming Rugby Championship campaign against New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina, Genia replied: "You just have to start again. You've got to put this behind you as quick as you can and just start again, which is tough."