Warren Gatland felt Maro Itoje’s outstanding display in the British and Irish Lions’ victory over South Africa last weekend was the best he has seen from the back-row.
Itoje was named man of the match after playing a huge part in the Lions overturning a half-time deficit to win the first Test at Cape Town Stadium 22-17.
The 26-year-old England lock was dominant at the breakdown against the world champions and came up with a game-high three turnovers.
"To me that’s probably the best game I’ve seen him play in any sort of jersey," said Gatland.
"He has been guilty in the past of giving away penalties and probably pushing the limits but I thought we saw an incredibly mature performance last weekend."
Gatland was impressed with Itoje's discipline in an attritional battle.
"I thought it was an excellent performance; I made a joke on Monday that it was the first time in about 360-odd games that Maro Itoje hadn't given away a penalty," Gatland added.
"I thought his decision making around the game in terms of when he went for things, when he decided to leave things alone, I kind of felt in the past he's chased lost causes and gone after things he didn't need to do and probably wasted a lot of energy.
"But I thought on Saturday his decision making about when to go after something, counter-ruck at the breakdown and the line-out stuff, was actually outstanding."
The Lions have made three changes for the second Test on Saturday, bringing in scrum-half Conor Murray, Mako Vunipola and debutant Chris Harris.
Top Headlines
Featured Matches
Football
Arsenal
English Premier League
2-0
Brighton and Hove Albion
Aston Villa
English Premier League
2-0
Chelsea
Fulham
English Premier League
0-1
Newcastle United
Leeds United
English Premier League
2-0
West Bromwich Albion
Leicester City
English Premier League
2-1
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City
English Premier League
2-0
Everton
Liverpool
English Premier League
1-0
Crystal Palace
Cricket
Sussex
Sri Lanka
Teams will be announced at the toss
Multan Sul..
Quetta Gla..
Teams will be announced at the toss
Islamabad..
Karachi Ki..
Teams will be announced at the toss
Peshawar Z..
Lahore Qal..
Teams will be announced at the toss
Islamabad..
Quetta Gla..
Teams will be announced at the toss
Lahore Qal..
Islamabad..
Teams will be announced at the toss
Mumbai Ind..
Delhi Capi..
Teams will be announced at the toss