Friday 2 June 2017 20:32, UK
Warren Gatland's son Bryn says he hopes his father's British and Irish Lions defeat the All Blacks during their tour of New Zealand - once he has beaten the Lions.
The fly-half has been picked to start in the Provincial Barbarians side to face the Lions in the tour opener in Whangarei on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 8am.
The 22-year-old is also a possible starter for the Auckland Blues when they take on the tourists at Eden Park next week.
Gatland junior has not hidden his determination to win against his father's side but admitted he would be rooting for the Lions during the rest of the tour.
"Obviously growing up I've always been an All Blacks supporter but I'm also a believer in family comes first," he told NewstalkZB.
"So when it comes down to Dad versus the All Blacks, it's not about me wanting the All Blacks to lose, it's about me wanting Dad to be successful.
"I'll be really proud if he can achieve that goal of beating the All Blacks."
He said the Barbarians, regarded as the weakest team the Lions will face on their 10-match tour, would not be intimidated by their star-studded opponents.
"No one's really backing us, which is fine, but it's a chance for us to play against the best in the world and put our best foot forward," he said.
"We've had the green light from the coaches to go out and give it a crack and if you make a mistake or it goes wrong they're not going to bark at us."
He said he had never played against a team coached by his father, and that they had enjoyed some verbal jousting ahead of the Baa-Baas fixture.
"It's a bit of an extra bonus, we've had a bit of banter about it," he said. "It's all pretty light-hearted stuff."
Gatland senior believes maintaining team harmony is a priority as he seeks to engineer a historic Test series victory over the world champions.
Gatland, who organised choir practice to help players bond before they set off for New Zealand, said he needed to avoid internal divisions in his 41-man squad.
The New Zealander said all his players would be given the same opportunity to impress and he did not want to repeat the mistakes of the Graham Henry-led tour of Australia in 2001, which was hit by squad tensions.
"It's about giving everyone an opportunity and keeping harmony within the squad, that's paramount for these guys at the moment," the New Zealander said.
"I know from the players who were involved with Graham Henry in 2001 - he lost half the team on day one because he went 'you guys over here, and you guys over there'. The players knew straight away, 'well, that's the Test side and we're just making up the numbers'."
"I think it's important that these guys feel they're putting themselves in the shop window, that they've got a chance to prove themselves and with a little bit of luck they're in contention for the Test," he said.
Catch all the action from this historic series live only on Sky Sports.
