WARREN GATLAND is on red alert for All Blacks cheating as the Lions boss warned of illegal tactics before Saturday’s First Test.
Gatland blasted the Kiwis for constant blocking to stop their opponents scoring tries.
He is meeting Saturday’s referee, Jaco Peyper, on the eve of the series opener to urge the whistler to look out for illegal play from Steve Hansen’s stars at Eden Park.
Gatland said: “It’s part of the game in New Zealand, all New Zealand teams at the moment are doing it.
“Some of the referees are picking them up for that. We’ve just got to hope the refs, the assistant refs and the TMOs pick up what’s going on.
“The frustrating thing for us is the amount of blocking that’s going on. It makes it difficult to complete attacking opportunities because there is so much happening off the ball, in terms of holding players or subtly holding players.
“A few years ago, people weren’t quite so subtle. They’re very, very subtle now.
“If you look back, the very first kick-off in Chicago with Ireland against the All Blacks, the All Blacks were penalised for interference and blocking.
“All I am asking is the officials are aware of it and look at it. I know how difficult it is to pick up because it tends to happen away from the ball. Someone just changes the line and blocks.”
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Gatland has compiled a dirty dossier on opposition cheating during this tour.
He feels that railroading his players chasing the ball and interference in the air has also denied his team a number of tries.
And he will go armed with the video tapes when he meets the officials in Auckland in four days.
Backs to drawing board for Warren
WARREN GATLAND has a major back problem… but no time for surgery.
The Lions back three have failed to light up the Southern Hemisphere and on Wednesday Gatland will roll the dice for the First Test.
George North, an icon of the 2013 series thanks to his incredible pick-up of Australia’s Israel Folau, has been totally anonymous in New Zealand.
Gatland said: “We know what potential George has, but he hasn’t quite filled that at the moment.
“He is the sort of guy that can get a loose ball or break and can score from 60m. That’s the potential he has.
“I would like to see him get his hands on the ball a bit more and use some of that footwork and power that he has going forward. We are going to have some quite lengthy debates in terms of finalising that back three.”
North remains the favourite in a back three alongside Anthony Watson and Leigh Halfpenny.
England’s Jack Nowell has failed to live up to his excellent finish to the domestic season after winning the Premiership with Exeter Chiefs.
Halfpenny has not missed a kick, but the Toulon and Wales full-back has shown nothing in attack.
Scotland’s Tommy Seymour has not even got close to the Test team and Watson and Liam Williams have struggled to attack the line.
If Gatland does not keep faith with his faltering fliers, he could bring in Elliot Daly.
The England and Wasps ace starts against the Chiefs tomorrow. Gatland said: “It’s a great opportunity for Elliot.
“He’s been accurate and he gives us a left-foot option in terms of our kicking strategy if we want to play territory.”
Owen Farrell is on course to feature in the First Test after shaking off a thigh injury. And tour skipper Sam Warburton and his Wales team-mate Alun-Wyn Jones are also held back as they fight to make the starting XV for the All Blacks opener.
Gatland added: “There’s opportunities for players to go out and perform. They have got to stay on form and be positive, be confident. These guys are up for it.”
The Kiwi, who saw his men grab a confidence-boosting win over the Maori All Blacks at the weekend, said: “We clipped a lot of the situations. For us it’s being smart and hopefully the officials are aware of it.
“They were aware of it in the Maori game. They picked it up on a couple of occasions where we ended up with penalties and then, on a couple of other occasions, they spoke about watching certain situations off the ball.
“It’s one of the hardest things to pick up because it tends to happen quite a long way off the ball. We’ll keep raising it because it was picked up against the Maori and they stopped doing it as much.
“In a couple of games we haven’t been able to get up in the air because there’s been that interference.
“When you look at the tapes and the stuff off the ball — where someone’s run a line or stopped someone getting through — some of it is very subtle. That’s made it difficult.”
Jonny Fordham's Diary
YOU can spot Mrs Gatland a mile off in New Zealand.
Warren Gatland’s wife Trudi is in the party spirit and has TWO Lions flags proudly displayed out of the back windows of her Mercedes 4x4.
Cruising the streets of their hometown of Hamilton, Mrs G is flying the flag for the tourists.
WARREN GATLAND is a proud Hamilton man, having been born and bred here.
Back in his old stomping ground with the Lions, the Kiwi boss will be pumped up for tomorrow’s game against old club the Chiefs.
Gatland will also be hoping home fans give his tourists a good send-off before they travel north to Auckland for the serious business on Saturday.
He said: “If you cut me open I’d probably bleed red, yellow and black. I’m proud of my roots.
“What I love about the Waikato people is they are incredibly loyal.
“The amount of support I’ve had personally has been amazing.
“It’s nice to be back. It’s unfortunate we’re only here for a short time.”
RORY BEST picked up an OBE this week — but is already treated like royalty.
The hooker revealed his team-mates are calling him Sir Rory in New Zealand.
And Joe Marler has taken things to the next level.
Best said: “Joe won’t let me carry my kit bag, he’s carrying it for me. It’s all good fun.”
Lions hooker Jamie George believes the 32-10 win over the Maori has got the tourists fired up — and made Hansen’s world champions take notice.
The Saracens ace, 26, playing in his first Lions tour, said: “I am not going to be intimidated by any one of them and I’ll look forward to it. We just have to keep doing what we are doing and keep progressing.
“If we are under the radar, that is great but we are going to come out firing. I feel there is much more to come. In the teams I’ve played in, the Crusaders to the Maori game, we have made huge progression.
“We felt very comfortable in defence against the Maori. We are trying to put teams under as much pressure as physically possible and I thought we did that.
“I think we put down a marker with the way we played and the way that we defended and our set-piece in general. All in all, we are pretty happy with it.”
New Zealand warmed up for the opening Test with a 78-0, 12-try trouncing of Samoa on Friday.
But fly-half Beauden Barrett warned there is still room for improvement.
The Hurricanes playmaker insisted: “It’s only a start and we can certainly get better in all aspects of our game.
“We know what’s coming. It is a different beast round the corner and we know we have to be better. I don’t think we are as clinical as we need to be, we were a bit sloppy.”
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