"Absolutely but they have more to lose than us," he said, reflecting on the 1993 tour when a rash of provincial teams, such as Hawke's Bay, Otago and Taranaki had beaten them but they had bounced back to beat the All Blacks 20-7 at Athletic Park, Wellington, in losing the series 2-1.
"We always remember the one game lost - that was the All Blacks - because the All Blacks losing was like a national shame," said Hewitt, a former Maori ABs captain who was led the haka in the 24-20 loss to the Lions in Wellington on May 29, 1993.
Hewitt was Hawke's Bay Magpies captain that year when they eclipsed the British Isles 29-17 at McLean Park. He, Neil Weber and Simon Tremain had crossed the line for tries.
Gatland, he emphasised, didn't arrive at his country of birth late last month under any illusions of claiming a clean sweep here.
"He knows what New Zealand's like," he said of the 53-year-old former Waikato hooker.
Hewitt said, if anything, the arm wrestle for ascendancy during the tour was a great snapshot of how much depth there was in rugby all the way down to the third-tier provincial level.
"We're going to see it again with the Maori, again with the Chiefs and we'll see it through to the All Blacks so it's a great thing for the game."
Incrementally the Lions had revealed glimpses of their ability to mutate and adapt in short turnaround times between games, tackle their hearts out when they wanted (Crusaders) and counter scathing criticism of a side that are supposedly devoid of flair (Highlanders 3-2 tries).
Asked what the Maori were likely to bring to Rotorua in the 7.35pm kick off on Saturday, he said coach Colin Cooper and his assistant, Tana Umaga, would present a blend of structure punctuated by flair.
"This game, to me, would be the most unpredictable of games. It'll be a bit like the way the Barbarians matched the Lions up in Whangarei."
Hewitt said the intensity level would be high, with some expansive play and torrid battles up front.
"New Zealand is still showing the British Lions that scrummaging is still a very big part of the game."
The influence of the scrum, he said, would dictate what tempo and shape the game would take.
"Whatever comes out of it, it's great to have the British Lions in New Zealand. It doesn't happen every year so to have them back again in New Zealand after 12 years or so is great for the game."
No doubt, Hewitt said, the tourists would come up against stiffer opposition because everyone had seen what they were capable of and how to beat them.
Of the cards they had shown, particularly in the rush defence against the Crusaders, it was obvious Gatland's men had a few surprises up their sleeves.
"You can argue they [Crusaders] didn't have all their All Blacks but the reality is the depth of the Crusaders is more than just the depth of a handful of All Blacks."
Conversely, Hewitt said the Lions would make a grave mistake in underestimating the excitement machines in the Maori side to be named today.
"That's what New Zealand rugby is about. That's what we saw with the Highlanders, Crusaders, Blues, Barbarians and that doesn't change."
He thought ABs coach Steve Hansen had picked his midfielders right and Malakai Fekitoa's omission was fair.
"Fekitoa had a solid game [on Tuesday] but there are still aspects of his game where it's unpredictable," he said, suspecting an "outstanding" Chiefs player, James Lowe, was in fact the "unlucky" one.
Highlanders pivot Lima Sopoaga, who had made a few crucial errors, was among the top three in the country and deserved to be there.
"It's a good wake up call for him," he said, juxtaposing his lapses to when the Hurricanes "blew 12 points" off the boot in the loss to the Chiefs last week.
Highlanders winger Waisake Naholo had shown strength and ability to forage but, like the others, was among top peers and catching the selectors' eye.
"They might be off so there might be every opportunity for players who didn't make it or are in the fringe to actually show their hand and we'll see that again this weekend with the Maori team," he said.
