Kicking off the mind games

Warren Gatland has come out fighting ahead of the British & Irish Lions’ series decider with Australia, questioning whether the Wallabies can reach the necessary emotional peak for Saturday’s third Test.

On the day the Lions head coach ruthlessly dropped Brian O’Driscoll from his squad for this weekend’s must-win clash in Sydney, Gatland also threw the first real verbal grenade of this series.

Gatland and opposing head coach Robbie Deans, also a New Zealander, had resisted the urge to throw barbs, until the Lions boss cranked up the pre-match pressure in response to a question regarding his own team’s morale following their 16-15 defeat in last Saturday’s second Test. Gatland had been asked whether he had sensed in his players’ body language since then that the series had been effectively lost.