The battle to win the favour of the referee has risen to equal importance as that of the battle at the breakdown, lineout and scrum during this Lions tour.
Yesterday's first Test saw the Kiwis happy with Jaco Peyper's performance, Johnny Sexton was not.
At a press conference on Sunday, following the announcement of the Lions team to play the Hurricanes on Tuesday, Warren Gatland highlighted an element of the first Test which concerned him: the All Blacks' treatment of Conor Murray.
Quoted by the New Zealand Herald, Gatland said that he believes Murray needs to be protected from players 'diving blindly' at his standing leg as he takes a box kick.
The Lions head coach added it is a matter he will raise with French referee Jerome Garces ahead of Saturday's game.
The one concern for me... there was a charge down when someone dived at his legs which I thought was a little bit dangerous. After he's kicked he's been pushed a few times and pushed to the ground. They're not massive issues for us, it's just making sure he's protected and not harassed after he's box kicked.
It's a little bit tough. When you see someone dive at someone's leg... you feel for the player, it's a little bit concerning that they're not actually trying to charge the kick down, they're nowhere near it.
They're actually diving blindly and hitting someone's leg. For me it's about protecting the players and making sure they're safe. We'll ask politely that the officials look at that and protect him.
It is not the first time this season that the issue has been raised regarding Murray. Following a Champions Cup game between Munster and Glasgow back in January, the player himself expressed fury due to the Scottish side's employment of the tactic.
I’m properly pissed off about that. I don’t see any benefit in charging down someone’s standing leg, I only see it as a danger or as a potential to get injured.
I don’t think it’s a good tactic.
