Gatland slams Kiwis for ‘illegal blocking’

– British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland has accused New Zealand players of illegal blocking and urged officials to clamp down on the tactic in this week’s first Test against the All Blacks.

Gatland said off-the-ball obstruction was endemic in New Zealand rugby and his players had been blocked throughout their five warm-up games, costing them

Hamilton

valuable attacking opportunities.

The New Zealander made his comments ahead of the match against Chiefs today, but they were aimed squarely at Jaco Peyper, the South African referee in charge of Saturday’s first Test at Eden Park.

“The frustrating thing is the amount of blocking that’s going on,” Gatland told reporters.

“It makes it difficult to complete attacking opportunities and situations because there is so much happening off the ball.

“We’ve raised it with the referee already. If you listen to the referee’s mic, they were talking about it constantly through the Maori game. They gave a couple of penalties for blocking.

“It’s one of the hardest things to pick up because it tends to happen quite a long way off the ball.”

Gatland said the blocking impeded his players’ ability to compete in the air, nullifying the Lions kicking game. He said officials stopped the tactic in the Maori All Blacks match on Saturday, coinciding with the Lions’ best performance on tour in a 32-10 win.

Meanwhile, backline star Owen Farrell (left) has shaken off a thigh strain and will be available for the first Test. –