British and Irish Lions 2017: Warren Gatland accuses All Blacks of trying to deliberately injure Conor Murray

The Lions head coach accused New Zealand players of intentionally targeting Murray's standing leg as he kicked and will seek talks with officials ahead of the second Test

Warren Gatland believes the All Blacks intentionally targeted Lions scrum-half Conor Murray (Getty)

Warren Gatland will seek urgent talks with Jerome Garces ahead of next weekend’s second Test against the All Blacks after watching what he felt was deliberate attempts to injure scrum-half Conor Murray during Saturday’s encounter by diving at his standing foot.

Gatland faces what he admits is the most important week of the entire tour as the British and Irish Lions bid to keep the Test series alive, having suffered a 30-15 defeat at Eden Park that leaves them needing back-to-back victories to claim a first series win in New Zealand since 1971.

Having named a near-identical side for Tuesday’s final mid-week game against the Hurricanes to the one that thrashed the Chiefs 34-6 last week, Gatland wanted to point out the treatment handed out to Murray during the first test, and confirmed that he will seek clarity over what is legally acceptable when the scrum-half is kicking the ball away.

“There's a few things we've got to do,” Gatland said on Sunday. “The one concern for me was that there were a couple of times from Conor Murray where there was a charge down where someone dived at his legs.

Gatland added: “There were a couple of times where he's kicked and they've just pushed him to the ground after he's box kicked, so I don't know if it was a tactic.

“From my point of view, if someone pushes him afterwards, that's fine but diving at his leg... I know other teams have used that in the past and I think Joe [Schmidt] has come out and was pretty critical about that being a tactic other teams have used against Conor. It's just a safety issue for me. I'd hate to see someone dive at his leg and have him blow a knee and then wreck his rugby career.

“I thought that's a little bit dangerous, and after he's kicked he's been pushed a few times, and pushed to the ground.

“So they are not massive issues for us, but just making sure he's being looked after and protected and not harassed after he's box kicked. We'll probably just get some clarity from the ref later in the week.”

Murray has been subject to this treatment before, most notably when the Irishman spoke publicly about what he perceived to be deliberate attempts from the Glasgow Warriors to injure him during the European Champions Cup clash in January against his Munster side.

"I'm properly p***ed off about that," Murray said at the time. "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.

"Luckily my leg came out of the ground and I managed to fall over, but if my leg stayed in the ground - especially in that [artificial] surface - you're looking at syndesmosis, you're looking at the cruciate [ligament]. I'm not blaming the players. I don't know who told them to do it but it's very dangerous.”

Gatland was fully aware that Murray has been subjected and rattled by similar treatment in the past, and he will speak to match referee Garces on Friday when he and Steve Hansen, his All Blacks adversary, have the option to meet with the officials for the second Test.

Gatland will seek clarification from officials in order to protect Murray in the remaining Tests (Getty)

“When you see someone dive at someone's leg and it's blind, you feel for the player, and it's a little bit concerning that they are actually not trying to charge the kick down, because they are nowhere near it,” Gatland added.

“So for me it's just about protecting the players, making sure they are safe and that's my biggest concern.”