Steve Hansen rejects Warren Gatland’s claim that Super Rugby teams are almost as good as All Blacks

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen could not resist having a crack at Warren Gatland. If the Lions head coach thinks there is almost no difference between New Zealand’s five Super Rugby teams and the All Blacks, well, he needs to think again, Hansen suggested.

“I don’t think there’s any comparison between Super Rugby and Test rugby,” Hansen said after naming his 33-strong All Blacks squad for the three-Test series. “He was probably just trying to make a light comment.”

He was talking about a reference made by Gatland yesterday when he tried to ease the pressure following his side’s 22-16 loss to the Blues at Eden Park.

“I don’t think that there will be a lot of difference between some Super Rugby sides and the All Blacks,” said Gatland.

Hansen was having none of that, but he did toss Gatland a bone of sorts when he said the former All Blacks hooker was trying for a bit of humour after reacting poorly to earlier suggestions his game plan was a predictable bash-fest.

Hansen made it clear he sees the Lions as a serious threat whatever happens in the games that precede the Tests, which start on June 24.

“I’ve always said this and I still believe it, I think they’re the best Lions side to come here,” said Hansen. “Gatland’s made it very, very clear the First Test is all he’s got his eyes on. I don’t think they’re too bothered about what’s happening between now and then.

“It would be foolish of us to think we can just rock up and expect a soft game. We’ll get the kitchen sink thrown at us and we need to be ready for that.”

In truth, he has picked a squad capable of catching the kitchen sink and hurling it back at the Lions. The group includes the outstanding Sonny Bill Williams, who is confident he can be even better than he was in the Blues historic win.

Williams lamented his stop-start injury-hit Super Rugby season with the Blues but revealed he is lighter, faster and stronger than he was at the World Cup in England two years ago.

“I’m starting to feel nimble, I just need more games,” he said, adding he never thought his career was over when he was hurt at the Rio Olympics but confessed to “moping about” for a bit. “Then I made the decision I wanted to be a better player and that’s what I’m striving for.”

Williams was named in the All Blacks for the first time since the World Cup after shifting to sevens last year and then rupturing his Achilles in Rio, an injury that sidelined for nine months.

He is joined in the All Blacks by Blues team-mate Rieko Ioane (another who was a handful for the Lions) in-form Hurricanes midfielder Ngani Laumape and a third Barrett, Jordie, the younger brother of Beauden and Scott.

That is not great news for the Lions who, if they did not before, now know just how tough their schedule is and how formidable the All Blacks will be.

Having lost to the Blues, the bottom of the New Zealand Super teams, the Lions play the unbeaten Crusaders on Saturday, who have all their All Blacks except injured skipper Kieran Read and centre Ryan Crotty.

Hansen has released three All Blacks — wing Waisake Naholo, fly-half Lima Sopoaga and loose forward Liam Squire — to the Highlanders for next Tuesday’s game.

Not to be outdone, Ioane, his brother Akira and scrum-half Tawera Kerr Barlow will play for New Zealand Maori on June 17 alongside recent All Blacks Liam Messam and Nehe Milner-Skudder, and Ihaia West who scored the match-winning try for the Blues.

Hansen touched on the Lions schedule, declaring the three-day lead-in to the first game was too tough and not something the All Blacks would have agreed too.

Given, he dismissed the performance against the Barbarians and said the loss to the Blues showed the players were still trying to establish combinations.

“They’re in the infancy of this tour. They’ll only get better and better. They’ll be a good side when the tests come around. It’s well documented that that’s all they want to win anyway, they just want to win the test matches.”

They are at long odds given Hansen’s squad is full of pace, power, skill and confidence.

Hansen has a few concerns with hooker Dane Coles not expected to feature in the first two Tests having been sidelined since mid-March with concussion, something Ben Smith and Brodie Retallick are struggling with too.

But just how much depth Hansen has can be seen in the midfield where Laumape is named ahead of recent All Blacks Malakai Fekitoa and George Moala. “His form has been good to ignore,” Hansen said of Laumape, who has scored 14 tries for the Hurricanes.