Gatland To Send In The Reinforcements

According to the 42.ie, the British & Irish Lions are set to call up a host of reinforcements to reduce the work load of the Test players.

Warren Gatland will confirm the players after the weekend Test matches involving Wales, Scotland, Ireland & England.

The latest round of call-ups was always part of the Lions coaching staff plans as Gatland would prefer to give his Test players a night off on Tuesday as the Lions roll into Waikato to take on the Chiefs.

'' One thing that I spoke about in the interview process, the hardest game is the Chiefs game before the first Test,'' said Gatland.

'' How do you protect that Test match 23? I know Wales are in the islands, Scotland in Australia, England-Argentina and Ireland-Japan, so there is potentially an opportunity to maybe bring in four or five to sit on the bench.

The Lions originally selected an extended squad of 41 players to tour New Zealand this summer, but Gatland is keen to ensure that his Test players arrive into Eden Park next Saturday with a clean bill of health.