Hansen v Gatland: Battle resumes ahead ofWelsh test

‘‘Don’t go there,’’ barked Stave Hansen. ‘‘Just don’t go there.’’

But of course we will. We have to. The Hansen v Warren Gatland Kiwi head coaching matchup is, after all, the compelling narrative of this final week of the All Blacks’ end-of-year tour.

The two chief protagonists from this year’s dramatic series between the All Blacks and British and Irish Lions will meet one final time for 2017, albeit in a different guise. This time Gatland is back in charge of the Wales national team he has coached since 2008, and with whom he has an 0-10 record against the All Blacks – five of them since Hansen has been in charge.

The rivalry has been ramped up by incendiary comments from Gatland in his just-released Lions tour diary, In the Line of Fire: The Inside Story from the Lions Head Coach.

In the book, Gatland, himself a former All Black, makes a clear threat that he possesses ‘‘explosive’’ details about the back-to-back world champions. By inference, it is damaging information. Hansen was asked twice yesterday about Gatland’s comments in the book, and repeated his ‘‘I’ve got nothing to say on that’’ line he gave to Stuff before the Scotland test.

Clearly it has irritated him, but equally clearly he is not about to start a war of words with his, at times bitter, rival at this stage of the year.

Asked whether the presence of the Lions coach in this final test week ramped up the occasion, Hansen said: ‘‘It’s got nothing to do with it. Don’t go there.’’ His look shut the question line off at the pass.

Then he was asked directly about Gatland’s comments in the book. ‘‘You know I don’t want to go there, so there’s no point in asking because I’m not going there,’’ he replied.