Warren Gatland is demanding more physicality and intensity from his British and Irish Lions players but has dismissed claims he is a one-dimensional coach whose sides only play one way. Instead he has urged his reshuffled team to go out and be positive against the Blues on Wednesday under the captaincy of Scarlets’ hooker Ken Owens.

The Lions’ underwhelming display in their opening tour fixture in Whangarei has generated some unflattering local media coverage and Gatland is already sick and tired of the phrase ‘Warrenball’ being applied to his methods. He insists he merely encourages sides to play to their strengths and blames the former England attack coach Brian Smith for inventing the phrase.

“Look, a few years ago Brian Smith coined a phrase ‘Warrenball’, and I don’t know whether that was because he was jealous of how much success we had. We had a group of players who came through Wales at the time who ended up being pretty big physical players. The modern game of rugby is about getting across the gainline, trying to get front-foot ball and playing to space if that is possible.

“I think in a way it is an opportunity for people who want to be critical. We experienced that four years ago (in the 2013 series in Australia) when people decided to be critical and a lot of people got caught with their pants down afterwards, didn’t they?”

Far from relying on a simple crash ball approach on this tour, Gatland believes the Lions will have to vary their game if they want to win a series against the All Blacks for the first time since 1971.

“To match the All Blacks you have got to display a bit of X-factor. If that X-factor means an offload or doing something that is a little bit outside the box, the players are being encouraged to do that because that is what we are going to need to beat them. We don’t want to be prescribed and we don’t want to play by numbers.

“Hopefully, we can show that on Wednesday and the players can perform what they are being encouraged by the coaches to do. The message to the players is that we want to play positive rugby, we want to be able to move the ball and shift it and create chances. We know we didn’t play so well on Saturday and it gives us an opportunity to go out and against the Blues and be positive.”

Gatland was also interested to hear from his son Bryn that Saturday’s game against the Provincial Barbarians was more physical than a typical Super Rugby encounter. No one is suggestng the Blues, with eight current or former All Blacks in their ranks, will be a soft touch but the Lions management do want their forwards to make more of an impact at Eden Park. “We’ve got to be able to ramp that physicality up in the games leading up to the first Test,” confirmed Gatland. “These games will help us get to grips with the intensity of what New Zealand rugby brings.”

The Lions have opted for a completely fresh XV against the Blues, with Owens leading a team containing 11 new Lions, including the Irish centre pairing of Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne and English wingers Elliot Daly and Jack Nowell.

Six of the eight forwards will be making their Lions bows, including James Haskell at 6 and Maro Itoje in the second-row. Pencilled in at inside centre for the Blues is Sonny Bill Williams, who is expected to play despite a slight knee problem, while the experienced Charlie Faumuina starts in the front row. Back-row forward Jerome Kaino (knee) and England’s current Argentina tourist, Piers Francis, are missing but a clutch of younger players will be hoping to use the occasion to further their reputations.

With over 40,000 tickets already sold, a near sell-out is anticipated, although head coach Tana Umaga is conscious of his team’s recent heavy schedule: “There’s no doubt it will be a challenging turnaround for us. In the last 30 days we have played four Super games in New Zealand, South Africa and Samoa and now the British and Irish Lions. But it is a special occasion and I hope the guys do themselves, their families and their club proud.”

Umaga’s last meeting with the Lions was in 2005 when he was involved in the fateful incident in the first Test in Christchurch that brought a premature end to Brian O’Driscoll’s tour. Memories of that episode have inevitably been rekindled this week but Umaga believes it is time to move on. “That was 12 years ago,” he said. “If people can’t put it behind them then I suppose they never will.”

Itoje, meanwhile, has spoken of his personal shock following the terror attack in his native London. “It’s tough,” admitted the Saracens lock. “These things are happening a bit too often for anyone’s liking. It’s a real dark and crass situation which we all wish doesn’t happen again. My heart and condolences go out to all those involved.

“These things are always more daunting when they happen on your doorstep, in your home city, the city you’ve grown up in. It is tough but in these kind of situations London and the whole of Britain show how resilient they are and how quickly we’ll bounce back.”

Blues: M Collins; M Duffie, G Moala, S B Williams or T J Faiane, R Ioane; S Perofeta, A Pulu; O Tu’ungafasi, J Parsons (capt), C Faumuina, G Cowley-Tuioti, Scrafton, A Ioane, B Gibson, S Luatua. Replacements: H Faiva, H Hodgman, S Mafileo, P Tuipulotu, K Pryor, S Nock, I West, TJ Faiane/M Nanai.

British & Irish Lions: L Halfpenny; J Nowell, J Payne, R Henshaw, E Daly; D Biggar, R Webb; J McGrath, K Owens (capt), D Cole, C Lawes, M Itoje, J Haskell, J Tipuric, C J Stander. Replacements: R Best, J Marler, K Sinckler, Henderson, O’Mahony, Laidlaw, J Sexton, L Williams.