Lions victory in Canterbury brings Tour back to life
The British & Irish Lions got their act together against the Crusaders, winning 12–3.
Facing their toughest opposition to date, the Lions can be happy with their day’s work. The Crusaders applied plenty of pressure for sustained periods, but were held out and made to look sloppy by a confidence boosting display of grit and organisation from the Lions.
Boasting a number of All Blacks, the Crusaders posed a litmus test of sorts, so the performance of specific units was of particular interest in this matchup. The Lions can be happy with some of the battles, but other areas still raise concerns.
Front 5
Mako Vunipola showed up well. He performed a nice choke tackle early, carried repeatedly, but had an up and down time in the scrum. Jamie George was consistent at lineout, which places him out front so far among the hookers. Tadhg Furlong had one nice carry, but was quiet apart from that.
The scrum earned a penalty early, but conceded also and was not the dominant area we would have hoped.
Alun Wyn Jones showed poise throughout and will surely have Gatland considering him for the captaincy, if he dares to omit Sam Warburton. George Kruis was part of an excellent lineout but showed little else. He needed to outplay Wyn Jones to have a shot at the tests, but fell short
On this evidence, the Lions will be reasonably happy with the set piece and feel they have put down a marker in the tight playing against most of the All Blacks unit.
Backrow
Sean O’Brien had a nice turnover early and some classy touches, also chasing back well to snuff out a crusaders break. He has proved his fitness, which was important, but missed out on any highlight reel moments.
Peter O’Mahony had a nice lineout steal, emphasising his value there. Like O’Brien, however, did nothing to demand selection, but at blindside nobody has.
Faletau is performing as the class act in the backrow and looks certain to start the tests at number 8. Stander again looked solid but limited and is in the contest for blindside rather than number 8.
The backrow has question marks over who will start, the All Blacks have questions here also, but related to fitness rather than pecking order. If Gatland picks the form unit — whoever that might be — the Lions could unexpectedly have an advantage here.
Halfbacks
Murray was unspectacular, but had a few excellent kicks that should have seen him nudge ahead of Webb in terms of selection.
Owen Farrell played well throughout, underlining his starting credentials, though he threw one unnecessary skip pass that killed a good chance. With Sexton’s early introduction we got a chance to see the double outhalf combination for extended minutes. They linked very well and their extra playmaking may be required due to weaknesses outside them. While their defence was generally solid, there was one concerning moment where Jack Goodhue exposed the drift defence and that will need addressing.
Centres
Johnathan Davies left the field early having had no chance to prove anything. Ben Te’o again made ground, but his inability to put Liam Williams away will be a concern.
The selection in the centre is entirely up in the air and a good performance from any number of players could make the difference.
Back 3
Stuart Hogg started well, but having caught a stray elbow to the head, left the field and is firmly behind Halfpenny at this stage. Liam Williams redeemed himself and came infield often looking for work. North did little to shake off his poor season and though he still has credit in the bank it is wearing thin. Watson got in good positions but failure to finish is a bad look for a winger.
This unit is advantage All Blacks in a huge way. For the Lions to win they will need to ensure the game is not played out wide for long stretches.
This very encouraging performance will be welcomed by Gatland. His selections are crystallising in a number of positions, but there are major questions in the backrow, centre and wings. Performances over the next week will be very interesting.
