Warren Gatland says the time for the "trash talk" between himself and Steve Hansen is over, but only after getting one last dig in against his All Blacks counterpart ahead of Saturday's first test at Eden Park.
The British and Irish Lions coach said in between his side's two trainingsessions at a wet and windy North Harbour Stadium today that the to and fro in the media, and some of the negative reports, were perhaps giving the wrong impression of this tour.
Told that Hansen this morning had addressed Gatland's comments to the media about approaching match officials about the so-called off-the-ball obstruction employed by New Zealand teams, Gatland said: "If I'm getting up his nose that's a good position to be in. Look, I'm not worried about Steve, we're concentrating on ourselves. He can say whatever he likes in the media."
After the Lions victory over the Maori in Rotorua on Saturday, Gatland said Hansen must be worried to be talking about the reinforcements the Lions coach had brought in, including some players who aren't household names in their own countries.
But when Gatland was asked together when Hansen was worried about what might face him at Eden Park - and the Lions have named a strong 23 - Gatland replied: "I'm not worried about Steve at all. We've got ourselves to prepare and get ready. We know it's going to be a tough encounter and as I said on Tuesday night [after the Chiefs match] let's let the rugby do the talking because there's been enough trash talk already.
"I think for all of us - get excited. This could be a fantastic series for the Lions and for New Zealand rugby and for the New Zealand public.
"Unfortunately there have been a few sideline things that have taken the focus away from that because wherever we've been in New Zealand the welcome has been unbelievable, the hospitality has been awesome. We're getting a different message as a squad of players in terms of that welcome than sometimes what we're reading in the media."
