New Zealand eyeing warm-up ahead of first British & Irish Lions Test

New Zealand are eyeing a full Test warm-up before meeting the British & Irish Lions at Eden Park.

With Warren Gatland deep in selection conundrums ahead of announcing his British & Irish Lions squad on April 19, New Zealand look close to securing a warm-up test against Samoa, according to reports in New Zealand.

The match is likely to be scheduled for Friday 16 June, eight days before the first Test between the British & Irish Lions and the All Blacks.

By that point in June, Gatland's side will have faced the four Super Rugby franchises as well as the Maori All Blacks and a Provincial XV.

While the British & Irish Lions head coach won't play his starting Test players together game after game he clearly has the opportunity to field them as a whole at least once if he chooses to do so.

Without this potential game against Samoa, New Zealand won't have had a hit-out together in order to blow away any of their cobwebs and hit the ground running at Eden Park on June 24.

Spectators in New Zealand could enjoy a double bill with reports also including that Tonga's clash against Wales could be the precursor to the All Blacks' game.

The European Champions Cup quarter-finals allowed Lions hopefuls to continue to put their cases for inclusion and the discussion regarding Gatland's captain continues.

The 2001 & 2005 British & Irish Lions tourist Jonny Wilkinson has urged Gatland to name a tour captain and appoint a leadership group, before then settling on a Test captain once the squad have completed the bulk of those first six matches.

"Ultimately, every player on that tour needs to be functioning somewhere near the level of captain in order to come back with victories," Wilkinson told Sky Sports News HQ.

"I think maybe having three or four guys in there that you know can take the role of captain. You then have a tour captain maybe. You know then that of those three or four guys, however many of them end up in the team, they are capable of doing that job.

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"You cannot go out there with this idea that you have one captain. You can have one captain who is named captain but you will need another leadership group of five or six who have the same inspirational effect and are treated as captains also."

With plans to finalise on both sides of the globe it's all hands on deck for both Gatland and his coaching team as well as all at New Zealand Rugby.

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