Sam Warburton may be tour captain for the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand but that does not mean he is guaranteed a place in the first Test, says Warren Gatland.
But the decision is also seen to have made an already large squad more unwieldy and has been interpreted as a sign of panic as the test series against New Zealand approaches.
"The frustrating thing for us is the amount of blocking that's going on, it makes it hard to complete attacking opportunities and situations because there is so much happening off the ball in terms of holding players or subtly holding players", Gatland told British media.
And sometimes it was put through to the TMO who said it didn't have a material affect and told the referee to talk to the players about it.
"The guys that played on Saturday will roll up their sleeves and help us prepare for Tuesday, and depending on what happens at the end of the week, the opposite will happen".
Tuesday's clash will represent the last chance for any of those involved to change Gatland's thinking ahead of the first All Blacks Test at Eden Park on Saturday.
"At a pinch he probably could have played tonight, but the ground is quite heavy and a number of players at half-time had tight hamstrings and groins".
The British and Irish Lions sent a strong message to All Blacks coach Steve Hansen on Saturday with an impressive 32-10 victory over the Maori All Blacks. In terms of devaluing the shirt, I can see some people's point of view on that but we're here to win a test series.
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"That was a step up again tonight and I'm really really pleased with that performance".
Watching the All Blacks dismantle Samoa in their warm-up Test last Friday night, scoring 12 tries during a game in which they ceded the majority of territory and possession to the Pacific Islanders certainly caught Farrell's attention.
"There's no doubt that there's some pressure on certain players and certain combinations have gone well", said Gatland, when quizzed on Warburton's situation.
"There will be some discussions and debates to be had about the final make-up of the back-row for Saturday". This time he will be hoping for a far better performance from his Lions team and isn't likely to be subjected to any verbal digs from Rennie.
"I think he was out white-baiting and the ring was offered out the back of the Ute, so that's typical Stephen Donald".
"There is no way we have divided into two", he said.
Midfielder Charlie Ngatai, who spoke of his pleasure of getting through 80 minutes at the Rotorua International Stadium after his recent concussion issues, is missing too, but loose forward Liam Messam has been named on the bench and will get his chance to go one better against Gatland's mid-weekers.
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