British & Irish Lions coach Andy Robinson hopes there will be a large turnout for the tourists’ public training session on Tuesday.
The people of New Zealand will be able to see all 45 Lions being put through their paces at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, while 20 lucky youngsters will be invited to join in at the end of the session.
And Robinson is urging people to come down and watch as the Lions prepare for the game against Bay of Plenty on Saturday.
He said: "This is the first time that I can think of that a touring party has staged such sessions and it is a unique opportunity for the New Zealand public to see the Lions in their preparations for their first game versus the Bay of Plenty.
"We can’t wait to get out there. Rugby is such as important part of the heritage in New Zealand and both players and coaches are really looking forward to the public training session in Auckland.
"We understand there has already been a lot of interest already and we are keen for as many New Zealanders as possible to come down and interact with the players and coaches."
Fellow coach Eddie O’Sullivan added: "After all the build up it is great to finally be in New Zealand. We are looking forward to our first game in Rotorua. There will be no easy games as every team that plays us will see it as their cup final.
"The challenge of the Lions is to try and make players of four nations gel as one team. On Tuesday people will actually see us working towards that goal in public.
"Everybody is welcome and we are hoping as many people from rugby clubs, schools and offices come down and watch the session.
"It is 12 years since we were last in New Zealand and this is the first chance for a whole new generation to see the 2005 Lions in action."
