The New Zealand Herald has mocked up British and Irish Lions boss Warren Gatland as a cartoon clown - for the second time.
New Zealand's national daily newspaper has previously dished out the clown treatment to Wallabies head coach Michael Cheika, while the Australian media has also in the past applied the same caricature to England boss Eddie Jones.
New Zealand boss Steve Hansen was moved to call into a radio station to respond to Gatland's claims the All Blacks had illegally targeted scrum-half Conor Murray's standing leg when box-kicking in the Lions' 30-15 loss in Saturday's first Test.
And now Lions boss Gatland has been caricatured by the paper for the second time in seven months, with the Herald hitting out at the tourists' Kiwi head coach.
"Implying the All Blacks are dirty is the unforgivable sin," wrote sports writer Gregor Paul in Tuesday's New Zealand Herald, of Gatland's comments on the All Blacks' treatment of Ireland scrum-half Murray.
"Questioning their playing ethics and morals is a line that can't be crossed."
Warren Gatland's absolutely blown it https://t.co/wtjIZEE0eN pic.twitter.com/o9JHvF0tdY
— nzherald (@nzherald) June 26, 2017
The Herald first took to the clown treatment to mock Australia boss Cheika on October 22 last year, before New Zealand swept past the Wallabies 37-10 in Auckland that day for a record 18th consecutive Test win.
New Zealand's premier paper insisted it was in response to the Sydney Morning Herald depicting Richie McCaw as a witchetty grub days before the 2015 World Cup final.
But Cheika responded furiously, saying after the match: "They dressed us up as clowns. They put our crest on it, so they wouldn't want our comment (about New Zealand's record winning run).
"I don't think they respect our comment anyway, so we won't make one."
Back in November, Gatland admitted he was "embarrassed" as a Kiwi to see the Herald mock up Cheika as a clown - only to end up receiving the same treatment himself.
England boss Jones was caricatured as a clown by The Australian newspaper in December last year too, after Cheika suggested Australian coach Jones had tarnished his legacy in his homeland with comments during his side's 3-0 Test series win down under last summer.
The Herald's second clowning of Lions boss Gatland will not sit well with the tourists - who have constantly drawn the distinction between their reception in the home press, and the warm welcome they have been afforded by the Kiwi public.
Hansen and Gatland have traded media barbs throughout the Lions tour, but the All Blacks boss raised the niggle when calling New Zealand's Radio Sport directly to condemn the Lions coach criticising the home players for "dangerous" targeting of half-back Murray.
"It's predictable comments from Gatland, isn't it?" Hansen told New Zealand's Radio Sport, on Monday.
"Two weeks ago it was we cheated in the scrums, last week it was blocking and now he's saying this.
"It's really disappointing to hear it, because what he's implying is that we're going out there to intentionally injure somebody and that's not the case. I guess he might be a bit desperate.
"We've never been like that and as a New Zealander I'd expect him to know the Kiwi psyche."
