Wednesday 31 May 2017 11:48, UK
Greig Laidlaw has come up to the defence of British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland after he was criticised by Eddie Jones earlier this week.
Jones questioned Gatland's squad selection and his tactics while speaking with the Daily Telegraph's Full Contact podcast, though the England head coach reversed course on Tuesday in an interview with Sky Sports News HQ, insisting the remarks were actually made in jest.
The comments have not gone unnoticed among British and Irish Lions players, who touched down in New Zealand on Wednesday morning, and Scotland captain Laidlaw insists the squad have every faith in Gatland.
"Eddie can say what he likes, because he's not sat in the hot seat, is he? He's got other things to worry about," Laidlaw said.
"Warren won the last Test series with the Lions, that's a record that stands up, and that's what he's measured on. That's credit to him."
Laidlaw was called up to the Lions squad as a replacement for Ben Youngs, who withdrew after his sister-in-law's diagnosis of terminal cancer.
And the Scotland captain could be handed the No 9 jersey when the Lions play their first match against a Provincial Barbarians side on Saturday.
Ireland's Conor Murray only joined the Lions squad on Sunday after playing in the PRO12 final on Saturday for Munster, while Wales' Rhys Webb was forced to miss the PRO12 semi-final for Ospreys with a groin injury, though he is expected to be fit.
Laidlaw has been able to get an early head start on his two scrum-half rivals by being among 14 players released by their clubs to take part in a training camp in Wales earlier this month and he has been impressed by Gatland.
"Warren's coaching style is very strong, very detailed," said Laidlaw. "He'll take a step back and stand and watch, but if he sees something he doesn't like he certainly won't let it slip.
"He's a very detailed coach. He knows a fair bit about this part of the world which is key for us coming down here.
"So he'll use his knowledge and experience to help the team, so if we've any questions we can ask him. He's made a strong impression on the group already."
The squad have been worked hard by defence coach Andy Farrell as he seeks to put his defensive structures in place, though many of the players have worked under him before with England and Ireland.
Laidlaw knows the Lions' defence needs to be a strength if they are to have any hope of beating the reigning world champions on home soil.
"Defence is clearly going to be a huge challenge for us here," Laidlaw admitted.
"You can't ship too many points coming down to this part of the world, because all New Zealand teams love to play that high-tempo game, score tries, play off turnover ball.
"So the flip-side of that is that when we've got the ball we need to look after it, and don't give them too much cheap possession, because they'll love it and try to shift the ball out to space.
"So when it is our turn in defence we need to get numbers on feet and make sure our one-on-one tackles are good."
