Rugby: Warren Gatland goes for pace to catch All Blacks on hop

British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland during his press conference in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A roll of the dice or a controlled gamble? That was the first question put to Warren Gatland by the media after he named his British and Irish Lions side to play the All Blacks in the second test.

His answer - "Isn't that the same question?" was right, and so too, it must be said, is his decision to drop Ben Te'o for Owen Farrell at second-five and Peter O'Mahony, the blindside flanker and captain of the Lions at Eden Park, for Sam Warburton.

Gatland's other change, to select Maro Itoje at lock ahead of George Kruis, doubles down on his game plan of mobility, and in particular, speed of foot to the breakdown and speed of ball to the touchlines. It's not really a risk because the Lions have nothing to lose after their failure at Eden Park last weekend.

The other big question is how the weather will change his approach. It's set to be wet and windy at Westpac Stadium on Saturday, which could stymie Gatland's attacking plans, and it would be a shame if it does.

With Israel Dagg, Rieko Ioane and Waisake Naholo named in the All Blacks back three and Farrell's distributing skills in the Lions' midfield combined with the running form of Jonathan Davies and Liam Williams, this test is set to ignite should the conditions allow.

The Lions coach said his players had spoken about the test as being the biggest of their careers. A defeat here for the All Blacks would be their first on home soil since they lost to the Springboks in Hamilton in 2009 and Gatland has given strong hints about playing a wide game to stretch Steve Hansen's men.

"With the amount of possession and opportunities we created, we think we did stress the All Blacks at times," Gatland said. "They got pretty narrow... from an attacking perspective, so it does open up some opportunities for us if we do get the ball back to be able to attack them as well so that's why we've gone for the [midfield] combination we have.

"Defensively we're going to have to do a job on Sonny Bill Williams as well. He came pretty direct against us and got a couple of offloads away so it's going to be important that we try to shut him down.

"We allowed him a bit too much time on the ball last week. He got some good gain line for them and offloads away ... we have to make sure our line speed is there to not allow him to be as effective as he was."

Gatland cut a relaxed figure today in front of an audience which included former All Blacks captain and now UK TV personality Sean Fitzpatrick, but it hardly needs to be said how important this test is for him personally.

He has been criticised at home for his decision to bring in reinforcements from the touring Welsh and Scotland teams - the so-called "Geography Six", and then not use most of them off the reserves bench in the draw against the Hurricanes on Tuesday night because of that public backlash, a remarkable admission.

A win here would tip the series on its head and make the third test at Eden Park a huge occasion. It would allow him to control the media narrative. A defeat and things could unravel further. The Lions spend three nights in Queenstown next week before returning to Auckland on Wednesday which will up the risk factor, as former England coach Martin Johnson could attest after watching some among his 2011 World Cup team run amok there.

Earlier in the day, Hansen was in a conciliatory mood, and that extended to Gatland when asked about the so-called "war of words" between the pair.

"I think I've been pretty mild," Gatland said. "I've tried to be complimentary of the All Blacks - obviously they're the best team in the world... I don't know if there's any hostility from this side but hopefully we can play a good game of rugby and hopefully enjoy a beer afterwards."