British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland insists that his selection of players based on geography does not devalue the shirt.
Wales quartet Kristian Dacey, Cory Hill, Gareth Davies and Tomas Francis as well as Scotland duo Finn Russell and Allan Dell were called up by Gatland after Ross Moriarty was ruled out of the rest of the series through injury.
The thinking was that these players would be less affected by the time difference as the Welsh had just played Tonga at Eden Park while the Scots were in Sydney to face the Wallabies.
Lions great Sir Ian McGeechan and Eddie Jones were among the most high-profile names to criticise Gatland for selecting players based on geography and not on merit with 2009 tourist Stephen Ferris going as far as to say the Lions shirt had been devalued slightly.
However, Gatland insists that he has the utmost respect for the Lions badge and is thinking about the most practical way to win the series.
Gatland insisted the additional players would not split the group. "These guys will be with us for a week and they are for bench cover and they understand that's the way it is," he told ESPN.
"Does it devalue the shirt? You're only a Lion when you get on the field and there's a few of those players that were probably unlucky not to potentially be in contention in the first place.
"We've picked up a couple of injuries. In terms of devaluing the shirt, I can see some people's point of that but we're here to win a Test series and it's those guys covering from Auckland, not travelling halfway around the world.
"We found it difficult the first 10 days when we were here in terms of jetlag and tiredness and stuff. The players that came in from Auckland last night and from Australia will be able to fit quickly into that time zone.
"This is something we had planned from the start and informed the coaches and this is what we were looking to do. I understand it is difficult when you are so far away and when you bring them in. My job is to win a Test series and I will do whatever it takes to do that."
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