GATLAND: ITOJE & WARBURTON CAN SAVE OUR SERIES

WARREN GATLAND is ready to ask Maro Itoje and tour captain Sam Warburton to ride to his beaten Lions’ rescue.

The coach was in combative mood yesterday as he picked through the wreckage of his team’s 30-15 loss to the All Blacks on arrival in the Kiwi capital.

He accused the world champions of targeting his star player Conor Murray with a tactic that could “blow a knee and wreck his rugby career”.

And he demanded that

his forwards pull their collective fingers out, come to the party physically, and give New Zealand a dose of their own medicine.

“We might have to shake it up a little bit,” Gatland warned.

“Someone like Maro made an impact coming off the bench and was very physical. Sam was excellent as well at the breakdown when he came on.

“The All Blacks were pretty brutal in that breakdown area and we need to match fire with fire if we’re going to do well in the Second Test on Saturday.”

And Gatland claimed that on more than one occasion the Kiwi defenders dived at scrumhalf Murray’s standing leg after he had kicked the ball.

Jerome Kaino appeared to be one of the alleged culprits.

Gatland said: “It’s a concern they are not actually trying to charge the kick down because they are nowhere near it. They are actually diving blindly and hitting someone’s leg. “I’d hate to see someone dive at his leg and have him blow a knee and then wreck his rugby career. “We have to make sure that he is being protected and not harassed after he has box kicked.” Sir Clive Woodward (left) called for a change of tactics rather than personnel, insisting New Zealand are “totally beatable”.

England’s World Cup-winning boss said: “We didn’t lose the game based on selection.

“What happens in the UK, you box kick, the opposition get it, play a couple of phases and normally kick the ball back. You box kick down here, the All Blacks catch it and you don’t get the ball back.”