Murray Kinsella reports from Wellington
THE FURORE IS rolling on and it’s starting to get nasty, as Warren Gatland was mocked up as a clown by a New Zealand newspaper after implying that the All Blacks might have been out to deliberately injure Conor Murray.
All Blacks back row Jerome Kaino – who the grievance centred around – today denied that he had attempted to hurt Murray in the first Test of the Lions series.
In the aftermath of his side’s defeat in Auckland, Lions boss Gatland suggested that the All Blacks may have been targeting Murray’s standing leg when the scrum-half box kicked.
While Gatland did not name an individual player, it is understood the grievance was around Kaino’s challenge on Murray in the 10th minute of the first Test.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen yesterday expressed his disappointment at Gatland’s words, labelling the Lions coach “desperate” and “predictable”.
And speaking today in Wellington, Kaino denied that he had been trying to injure Murray but did admit that he had mistimed his challenge.
“It is never our intent to go out and intentionally injure someone outside the laws,” said Kaino. “We play hard and we play fair. That incident was a one-off. It is never our intention to go out and try and single anyone out.
“It was more timing. He is very quick getting the ball to foot, and there was a bit of timing there. But what has been said out there about malice and intention to hurt someone, that is never the case.
“It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone and to play outside the rules. I wasn’t cited. I don’t think I should have been.
“I didn’t go in to tackle him. I rolled into his leg. What I was trying to do, his swinging foot, if you can disrupt that it’s like an ankle-tap, so you disrupt the kick. My timing was off, and I rolled into his planted foot, and that’s what I believed happened.”
To allow Kaino to front up to the media today in Wellington was a strong move by the All Blacks, but their hope is that the experienced flanker’s denial of any wrongdoing will now move things on.
Kaino had, of course, been aware of the storm over his challenge on Murray and he insisted he had no ill intent towards the Lions scrum-half.
“I’ve seen it reviewing the game, and it has popped up on my Twitter feed about a million times, so it is a bit hard to avoid it,” said Kaino.
“I guess people have their opinions on it. All I can say is it wasn’t my intention to go out there and target his planted foot. It is never nice when you have things done to you outside the laws, and the way we do things, it’s within the spirit of the game.
“I think what is at question here is my intent and what kind of player I was, and all I can say is that I never go into a game thinking that I am going to target someone and intentionally hurt them. I just wanted to clear that up.”
The incident has sparked a nasty response from the New Zealand Herald, who mocked Gatland up as a clown on the front page of their sports section on Tuesday along with the headline ‘If the nose fits, Warren.’
Gatland was previously depicted as a clown by the New Zealand Herald last year after he said he found the behaviour of some All Blacks fans embarrassing.
The newspaper has rolled the same theme out again today, with a strong article inside suggesting that “Warren Gatland’s absolutely blown it.”
“Implying the All Blacks are dirty is the unforgivable sin. Questioning their playing ethics and morals is a line that can’t be crossed,” writes Gregor Paul.
“That can’t be taken back and it can’t easily be forgiven. It is a baseless accusation that reeks of desperation.
“It looks painfully like a coach with an excellent global reputation feeling his career is about to take a nasty tumble, and he’s grabbing at anything on his way down.”
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