Lions coach Warren Gatland has spoken of compatriot Graham Henry's error during his own time in charge of the famous tourists in 2001 when Henry quickly made it obvious what his preferred test side was.
Henry himself has admitted of making mistakes on that tour of Australia, which quickly descended
into bitter in-fighting, but the former All Blacks coach might raise an eyebrow to hear Gatland making such a public point of it.
Gatland's philosophy isn't new - he explained it on arrival in Auckland yesterday - and it involves using the first three games to quickly get all of his 41 players involved so they feel fully engaged and part of the six-week tour.
"Obviously the whole focus is on the test matches, but having been involved in 2013 and having spoken to people in the past... it's about giving everyone an opportunity and keeping harmony in the squad," Gatland said after naming his match-day squad to play the NZ Provincial Barbarians in Whangarei on Saturday.
"That's paramount for these guys at the moment. I know the guys who were involved with Graham Henry in 2001 - he lost half the team on day one because he went 'you guys over here, and you guys over there' and the players knew straight away, 'well, that's the test side and we're just making up the numbers'.
