The former hooker is renowned for playing it with a straight face, although surely it took all his poker prowess to overestimate the strength of this particular hand. “What I am still excited about is the potential a Lions team still has; particularly in certain areas,” Gatland said. “There are a few ­injuries but potentially we are strong in the second row, back row there’s a lot of competition, in the midfield as well and in the back three we have real options. We’re still lacking strength in depth in one or two areas.”