Former Lions lock Ben Kay has slammed New Zealand sports fans as "among the most arrogant in the world" and says it is almost impossible for a touring rugby side to win respect here.
In a column for The Times newspaper, Kay admits that after a disappointing opening effort againstthe no-name Barbarians in Whangarei, the Lions have "conceded the psychological advantage to the Blues and Crusaders [in the next two games], because neither Super Rugby team has anything to fear".
But he pulled out the jet-lag excuse for the narrow escape against the Baabaas.
"Tiredness affects the central nervous system and you only have to be a few per cent off to deliver a performance like that," he said. "Research shows that jet-lag hits hardest three days after arriving.
Kay was less forgiving of New Zealand fans, though, recalling the response to England's famous victory in Wellington in 2003.
"The response was to criticise the way that we played, to claim that England were ruining rugby and that we had the ugliest pack of all time," he said.
"Only the last of those might have been true - but the point was that even in victory, you received little credit from New Zealand rugby people. The Lions need to own the agenda.
"If they turn up against the Blues and put in a strong performance, everyone will forget what happened. If they don't, then it ratchets up another level.
"A struggle against the Crusaders and you may well find even more Kiwis dismissing a Lions squad that we felt was the strongest ever as worse than 2005."
Kay continued: "New Zealand rugby fans deserve the right to be arrogant, because they have been raised on a diet of virtually unbroken success. The All Blacks are more than just a nation's rugby team, they are a national symbol and so even non-rugby fans feed off that superiority.
"As a Lion in New Zealand, it is therefore impossible to escape the pressure and scrutiny. At every turn, they will have the locals doubting them - the man at reception smirking as he checks them in to a hotel, the barista with a little dig as she makes a coffee.
"Winning their respect as a visiting team is virtually impossible."
