Warren Gatland has challenged his squad to earn the respect of New Zealanders following a survey suggesting 78% of Kiwis cannot name a single British and Irish Lions player. Gatland also says it is vital to avoid the mistake made by the former Lions coach Graham Henry in 2001 if the touring team is to beat the All Blacks in the forthcoming Test series.
With the Lions due to kick off their 10-game tour against a NZ Provincial Barbarians XV in Whangarei on Saturday, Gatland says he is not surprised to hear many locals seem to have little clue who his players are. “Most people in New Zealand still think rugby in the northern hemisphere is played in six inches of mud and pouring rain,” said Gatland, a former captain of Waikato who also toured with the All Blacks. “That’s our job: to come here, play some good rugby and earn respect. If we reduce that [survey] number down to 77% that will be a good start.”
The Lions head coach is also determined to maintain competition for places within his squad, rather than finalising his Test team prematurely. “Having been involved in 2013 and speaking to people about previous tours, it’s about giving everyone opportunity and keeping harmony within the squad. That’s paramount for these guys. I know [from] the players involved with Graham Henry in 2001 he lost half the team on day one.
“He just said ‘you guys go there, you guys go here’. They knew the Test side from day one and the others were just making up the numbers. It’s important these guys feel they are putting themselves in the shop window and they have a chance to prove themselves.”
The rivalry is already hotting up for the Test no 10 jersey, with Jonathan Sexton, Owen Farrell and Dan Biggar all notably competitive characters. Farrell can also play at 12 and Sexton would clearly prefer the Englishman to assume that role. “It was quite funny last week when I asked to speak to the 10s at the end of training,” revealed Gatland. “Johnny said: ‘Don’t worry about Owen, he’s a midfielder.’ There’s already a bit of banter there and a lot of healthy competition.”
Sexton has earned the nod initially, although Gatland insists Saturday’s selection “almost happened by mistake” because of the number of players unable to attend the two short pre-tour training camps in Wales and Ireland. The Lions are likely to have too much firepower for a Barbarians line-up featuring his son Bryn at 10 but Gatland Snr is not expecting Saturday’s opponents to resort to crude physicality in response: “It’s not something that’s crossed my mind at all. In my experience of New Zealand teams, they play to the limit, they play to the edge but I don’t think they go out there with the purpose of trying to injure people.
“We know it’s going to be tough, it’s going to be physical, but at no stage do I think these games will go over the top in terms of physicality. We want it to be tough, but we want some good, clean, hard rugby. I’m confident all the teams we come up against will hopefully go in there with the same attitude.”
The Lions, meanwhile, say they have no special plans to counter the All Blacks’ traditional haka, with Gatland insisting his squad are looking forward to facing it. “The nice thing is that players are going to get an opportunity to face the haka on more than one occasion. The more times you face up to it, you don’t mind it. It’s a motivational thing, it’s not intimidating.”
Skipper Sam Warburton also says the squad will not be affected by jetlag this weekend, despite having only touched down in Auckland on Wednesday. “I think it’s been blown out of proportion a little bit,” insisted Warburton. “If we just had 23 players it would be absolutely brutal but we’ve got a big squad of top-quality players who can deal with that fixture list. I can see how from the outside it looks bad but I think it’s fine really. If guys were going to start six matches before the Test series that would ring alarm bells but that’s not going to happen. The guys are fresh, ready to go and in a good place.”
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