Lions coach Warren Gatland has come to the defence of his upcoming rivals, disputed the notion that the All Blacks are a dirty side.
The world champions were again handed the unwanted label by a large proportion of the Northern hemisphere rugby media in the wake of the 21-9 win over Ireland in Dublin last month.
The former All Black believes that while they brought a physical game plan, there was no premeditated decision to step over the line.
"I didn't think it was a dirty game," he said.
"The All Blacks fronted up physically and they wanted to win the game and sometimes people can be over critical, but they definitely didn't go into to the game to beat the Irish up or intimidate them. "
"A couple of incidents happened and they brought the physicality they needed to win the game but I don't think they brought the intention to go over the top."
The 53-year-old said the most impressive part of the All Blacks performance in Dublin was their will to win following the shock 40-29 loss in Chicago a fortnight earlier.
"The whole thing about them in Dublin was the result.
"But we saw what they are able to do, in terms of the internal and external criticism that they would have taken and also put on themselves, then they fronted up in Dublin a few weeks later and turned it around."
The New Zealander is in the process of preparing the unenviable task of leading the Lions to a series win over New Zealand, something only accomplished once in 1971.
Warren Gatland and his Lions coaching staff (Reuters)
Gatland has taken some comfort out of the Ireland win in Chicago, believing it proved that the All Blacks can be broken down if you can be clinical.
"What the performance showed me that there are some opportunities, and for me as a coach I was sitting there thinking that they are human, they can be pressurised and they can make mistakes."
The former Chiefs head coach has tough selection decisions to make as he plots what would be an historic victory, but with the 2016 form of England and Ireland he is confident he has the makings of a winning side.
Gatland said he has one selection criteria.
"Don't make yourself available, don't get on that plane unless you have the belief and confidence that you can go to New Zealand and win."
The Six Nations will be the key factor in final selection, and Gatland has put the onus on Welsh and Scottish players to push hard for a place on the plane.
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