British and Irish Lions 2017: Warren Gatland reveals even Sir Graham Henry 'embarrassed' by New Zealand media

Gatland appeared on the front of the New Zealand Herald dressed as a clown

Warren Gatland admitted on Thursday that this Lions series against New Zealand has been much harder than either of his previous tours due to the media campaign that has been launched against him, revealing that even former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry has been “embarrassed” by some of the repeated attacks in the national press.

Gatland has been targeted by the New Zealand Herald in what he described as a personal campaign to disrupt him, his Lions squad and their preparations for the test series against the All Blacks.

However, he claimed that the only people it has really affected are his family, and that the media portrayal of the Lions coach has not been one that every New Zealander has shared.

Asked if he feels the Lions have earned respect regardless of this weekend’s series decider, Gatland answered: “That’s been a hard one.

“Despite sometimes the direction one of the national newspapers in New Zealand has taken, everywhere I’ve gone, there have been people being positive about the tour. It’s kind of been a yin and yang type of thing. You are hearing one side of it or reading one side of it, but that is not reflective of what I have been experiencing here as a coach and as a person.”

After speaking to Welsh Rugby Union president Dennis Gethin and his wife, Jan, Gatland was able to relay an example of this, with former All Blacks coach Henry – the man who beat the Lions so easily in 2005 and also secured the Rugby World Cup success in 2011 – less than pleased with how Gatland has been treated.

“I was talking to Jan Gethin and Dennis Gethin last night and they happened to be on a plane coming with Graham Henry, who they knew from Wales. Graham said to them he has been embarrassed about some of the media coverage in New Zealand.

Warren Gatland believes his Lions side were galvanised by the personal attacks launched at him (Getty ) (Getty)

“But that has been the way and is it the future of professional sport? I’m not too sure. Things are changing all the time on social media and all that stuff. But from a personal point of view, the reaction from the public here has been awesome.”

The 53-year-old believes he has refused to lower himself to that same level, and he hopes that when the Lions leave New Zealand next week – win, lose or draw in this Saturday’s third Test at Eden Park – they will be remembered on these shores as good tourists to leave the Lions in the best stead moving forward into what is still an uncertain future.

“I think we were conscious coming to New Zealand that we wanted to be seen as good tourists both on and off the field. I’d like to think we’ve done that,” he added.

“As a team we feel we’ve got better in the time we’ve had together. It’s been tough but the atmosphere has been phenomenal. Seeing the support we’ve had from the UK and Ireland has just been incredible. I hope both sets of fans have enjoyed that. It just shows how special the Lions are and it’s something we need to protect for the future.

“But you always want to end up as a winner. So for us the focus is on winning the series. That was our ultimate goal. It was having the confidence and belief when we got on the plane that we were good enough to win, even though we were written off from day one.”