NO INTENT TO HURT, SAYS ALL BLACK KAINO
Denies allegations that he deliberately crashed into Lions’ Murray
WELLINGTON played hard but “within the rules and the spirit of the game.”
Asked if he had seen the incident since Saturday, he replied: “It’s popped up on my Twitter feed about a million times, so it’s a bit hard to avoid.”
He said the furore sparked by Gatland’s comments had not affected the All Blacks as the world champions prepared for the second Test in Wellington on Saturday.
“I don’t think it bothers us what’s going on outside of our circle,” he said.
Two-time World Cup winner Kaino said the Lions would be hurting and desperate to respond after the loss in Auckland, where their vaunted forward pack failed to meet expectations
“Their team meetings and training will have a lot of edge and lot of emotion... so we need to make sure that we turn the screw a lot more in our sessions and expect a backlash from the Lions on the weekend,” he said.
All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said Gatland’s comments were just part of the hype in the lead-up to a big Test.
He said both sides tried to pressure kickers and “to take it any further than that is just a bit silly.”
Foster, a former Waikato teammate of Gatland’s, said the All Blacks were used to visiting coaches taking potshots in a bid to put the hosts off their stride.
“We don’t take it as personal, it’s just what some people do,” he said.
“If we start sulking about that then we’re going to get upset and distracted and isn’t that the objective of it?
“So we’ve just got to stay in our own mind really clear and focused about what we do and remember... it’s about a game of rugby on Saturday and we have to be ready.”
Foster admitted the needling could sometimes go too far, referring specifically to a New Zealand Herald cartoon depicting Gatland as a clown.
“I wouldn’t like that,” he said. A similar cartoon of Michael Cheika last year enraged the Wallabies coach, who accused New Zealand Rugby of being behind it.
Foster said he and Gatland would forget any differences after the third and final Test in Auckland early next month and relax over a drink.
“We’ll go hammer and tongs at each other but at the end of the third Test hopefully we’ll sit down and have a beer together and a yack about it,” he said. AFP