• New Zealand coach opens new front in war of words with Warren Gatland • ‘He keeps telling us he’s got something up his sleeve … we’ll wait and see’

Steve Hansen told Warren Gatland the British & Irish Lions are running out of time after New Zealand sent a daunting message to the tourists with a 78-0 victory over Samoa in Auckland on Friday.

The All Blacks coach watched his team score 12 tries in a dominant display of attacking rugby, then renewed his war of words with his Lions counterpart, teasing him over the latter’s promise that the Lions are not yet the finished product.

New Zealand sound Lions warning with 78-0 thrashing of Samoa Read more

The Lions face Maori All Blacks in Rotorua on Saturday but, with only a week to go until the first Test, there are still question marks over style and selection and Hansen said Gatland would need to show his hand against the Maori.

“Like them we have a style we like to play and we use the ball a lot,” said Hansen. “We have some skilful people when we do that. Do I expect them to do something tomorrow [against the Maori]? Well, he keeps telling us he’s got something up his sleeve other than his arm. We will wait and see, won’t we?

“He’s starting to run out of time to get it practised but I’ve always said once you have a style as a coach and it works for you, you usually stick with it. So it’s going to be a big move if he changes. We will wait and see.”

The style of play Hansen expects from the Lions may be a far cry from the scintillating skills the All Blacks showed as they ran in 12 tries against Samoa but Hansen appears to think that is all the Lions have got and he took great delight in making that clear.

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“We’re sitting here, we’ve finished for the weekend, we’ve come out with no injuries, so we get to sit down and get really excited about what’s ahead of us. You wait 12 years for the Lions to come around so you don’t want to miss it.

“We get to watch them play the New Zealand Maori side, who will throw the kitchen sink at them, so it will be a big game for the Lions again. Then all the banter is out of the way. I can’t wait.”

Most expect the Lions to try for a set-piece tussle with the All Blacks. They will look to scrum and drive them into submission, hoping to strangle the life out of an attack that boasts some of the best runners with the ball in the game, many of them forwards. Hansen was happy to use that to bait Gatland further.

“I’ve been here since 2004 and every year we get told we’re going to be targeted at the set piece. We will look forward to it, we’ll get ourselves ready for it and hopefully we will match them or be better.”

Hansen was adamant the All Blacks would be better in the first Test and claimed both their skills and defence can be improved on. “It doesn’t matter who you play, if you can keep them to zero that’s pretty good. Same with the attack, it was a good start.

“We have a critical few skill sets that we work to. They are the things we know if we do them well we have a chance of winning. If we get the critical things right, then we are in with a chance.”