All Blacks don't cross the line, says Robbie Henshaw

All Blacks player Israel Dagg gets held up in the tackle in the first test between the All Blacks and The British and Irish Lions. Photo / Alan Gibson.

Robbie Henshaw knows what's like to be hit with a dose of All Black physicality - he was left concussed by an accidental high tackle by Sam Cane when playing for Ireland in Dublin last year.

But the British and Irish Lions midfielder, who will start at second-five against the Hurricanes at Westpac Stadium tomorrow, doesn't believe they cross the line.

Cane was cited and cleared of his tackle against Henshaw in the All Blacks' victory last November, a test in which Steve Hansen's men came under criticism for their high shots. Midfielder Malakai Fekitoa was yellow carded for his one after Cane's.

And while the All Blacks attempted put a lot of pressure on halfback Conor Murray during the first test at Eden Park when trying to charge down his kicks from the base of the ruck, Henshaw today wasn't following coach Warren Gatland's line about some of Hansen's players setting out to hurt Murray by diving at his legs.

"We know how physical they are as a team," Henshaw said. "It's a test match and probably one of the biggest games for them as a group and for us also. I think physicality is one of the main components of rugby and everyone will use it in abundance. I don't think they take it too far.

"Sometimes, in the moment, people may get their entry wrong and maybe stick out an arm and hit someone high, but it's not intentional. People make mistakes. It's down to the officials [to sort out].

"If a guy is clearly going for a block down and clearly going for the ball and he follows through and hits our player, well that's not his fault, but if he's nowhere near the ball and he's hit our guy off the ball then that needs to be looked at.

"At the moment we're okay about it. We know teams are going after our key players to put them under pressure and to try to shut [them down]."

Henshaw is one of the few in this Lions squad to have experienced a victory over the All Blacks, after he played an integral part in the Irish victory in Chicago, a fortnight before his team's defeat in Dublin.

The 24-year-old, who scored the last try for the men in green which put the game beyond the All Blacks, is unlikely to play a test on this tour but is under no illusions about the challenge facing his mid-weekers against the Super Rugby defending champions.

As for the Lions' response in the second test at the same venue four days later, Henshaw said his team had to fight fire with fire.

"We need to take it to another level this week," he said. "We all know we need to be better. It's going to be an unbelievably tough test but we have the full confidence in the squad that we have the players to do that. It's an attitude more than an action, I think."