Lions Coach

"He'd do a great job as Lions coach. 3-0 would be expected. It's probably the easiest of the three tours isn't it?" Gatland said after naming his Wales side to face Jones' England in the Six Nations on Sunday.

Gatland coached the last two Lions tours to Australia in 2013 and his native New Zealand last year but says Australian Jones is the best man to handle the next one.

"I'm learning from him. He's doing a great job so I'm watching him pretty closely," Gatland added.

The Irish flanker said the team was over-trained ahead of the first test, which the All Blacks won 30-15, and the drawn third test.

"To be honest, I'd be pretty critical of it because I think we should have won the tour and we probably should have won it comfortably," O'Brien said in an interview with OffTheBall.com.

Both coaches sprung surprises in naming their starting XVs for the eagerly anticipated clash at Auckland's Eden Park on Saturday.

The inclusion of fit-again Kieran Read ahead of Ardie Savea was to be expected, but Steve Hansen has also opted for Ryan Crotty and Rieko Ioane at outside centre and left wing respectively, taking the places of Anton Lienert-Brown and try-machine Julian Savea.

"I'm not sure, looking at their bench, that it is as strong as it has been in the past," Gatland said of the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup winners.