BRITISH & IRISH LIONS 2017 GATLAND GOES TO WAR

Coach rounds on critics following masterclass by the fired-up Farrells

WARREN GATLAND slammed his Kiwi critics last night as the British and Irish Lions finally found their bite.

Victory over New Zealand’s top franchise team put the tour firmly back on track in the wake of a patchy win over a bunch of part-timers and defeat to the Blues.

It also gave Gatland a platform from which to let rip at the coaches, former players and local media who had kicked him when his team were down.

“It’s been very tough this week, there’s been a lot of criticism, ” said the Lions boss (left).

“People wrote the tour off after two games, they said the tour was over.” Gatland took issue with one sniper who claimed it was more embarrassing than the 2005 tour when the Lions lost the series 3-0.

“I have been hammered by the New Zealand media as well,” he said.

“So it has been a targeted campaign against me personally.

Pressure

“But that is part of coaching at the highest level. You have got to be able to handle those sort of things and that sort of pressure, and sometimes that brings out the best in me as a competitor.”

If that last utterance sounded a lot like a warning to the locals that continuing to take pot shots could hurt the All Blacks’ cause, Gatland is happy for that perception to take hold.

For finally yesterday, on a cold evening at the AMI Stadium, he saw sufficient quality from his players to convince him that they are not chasing a lost cause.

The Lions shut out a Crusaders team which leads the Super Rugby standings with 14 wins from 14 and averages 37 points per game this season.

It was a triumph for the Farrell family in particular, with fly-half Owen kicking all the points and looking a million dollars in everything he did – and dad Andy no less influential as the coach responsible for the watertight defence.

“Hats off to Farrell junior & senior,” Sir Clive Woodward