YOU’RE RIGHT, GAT, THE ALL BLACKS ARE CYNICAL
WARREN GATLAND was last night told he was right to call out the All Blacks for “cynical” play – even though he has been hammered for it here.
Former Lions prop Matt Stevens
backed Gatland over his claim that box-kicking scrum-half Conor Murray appeared to be targeted by defenders lunging at his standing leg rather than trying to charge down the ball.
Gatland’s view, that the tactic had the potential to “wreck” the Irishman’s career, was slammed by All Blacks counterpart Steve Hansen.
But Stevens (right), who toured with the 2005 and 2013 Lions, took a different view after watching All Blacks flanker Jerome Kaino attempt to block a kick and appear to crash into Murray’s standing left leg.
“From that evidence Gatland has some pretty good reason to point the blame at Kaino,” Stevens said. “I think it’s cynical play and something he has thought about before he has done it.”
Hansen, whose team won the First Test 30-15, rapped back: “What he’s implying is we’re intentionally going out to injure someone and that isn’t the case. We’ve never been like that.”