Crusaders 3 – 12 Lions

The Lions arrived in Christchurch having lost to the ‘worst performing’ New Zealand franchise three days before. They bounced back in a big way with a great result against the unbeaten and ‘best performing’ New Zealand side in the Crusaders. It was a game dictated by the Lions, from a tireless battle up front to a tactical and masterful performance from the backs. The Lions ground the game out, stifling the Crusader creativity in typical Northern Hemisphere fashion; kicking for points and territory, a great defensive line and strong set pieces. A pity Davies and Hogg went off from promising starts; the Scarlets’ man having come closest to ending the Lions’ try drought early in the first half.

Backs

Stuart Hogg – 6
The Scottish fullback looked good until he collided with Murray’s elbow and went off for stitches. Six is hardly a reflection of what could have been, if the Scotsman hadn’t been replaced in the 21st minute by Anthony Watson.

George North – 7
Looked lively and maintained the same level of intensity in attack and defence. He came off his wing at times to carry in the centre, which certainly would have tested the Crusader backs physically as well as tactically.

Jonathan Davies – 6
Another wounded Lion to leave the field early on. He performed brilliantly in the final stages of the Pro12 for the Scarlets and he looked to have carried that form on with some precise angles. Again the six doesn’t do justice.

Ben Te’o – 7
Generally looked good with ball in hand, carrying and stepping through the Crusader line. His ball skills were lacking at times and he’ll be annoyed he botched the final pass to put Liam Williams into the corner.

Liam Williams – 6
He went into the game determined to put the Barbarians shocker behind him. I can only imagine Howley sat him down and told him to cool off on the reckless aerial challenges. He chased everything and kept up the pace but looked uncertain and conservative under the attacking high ball (a good thing, probably). Kept a dogged defense of his wing.

Owen Farrell – 8
Superb display from the Sarries talisman. Apart from one missed penalty (which should have been TMO’d) his kicking dictated the game in the first half. Overall a brilliant display from the European player of the year.

Conor Murray – 9
Murray is another level and the whole package when it comes to world class scrum halves. Great distribution to the backs, dangerous darts around the breakdown and excellent box kicking to put the Crusaders on the back foot. Penned in to start at 9.

Pack

Mako Vunipola – 8
A beast up front. Carried strong and safely, tackled even better and turned the ball over on a few occasions. Kept a largely dominant scrum with his fellow front three against the likely All Black front five.

Jamie George – 7
A good display from the hooker. Carrying, tackling and executing lineouts (save one) with aplomb.

Tadhg Furlong – 7
Strong up front and carried with ferocity. Earned the Lions a penalty at the scrum.

Alun-Wyn Jones – 7
Thrived on the battle up front and really put in a shift. An animal of passion and intensity, the captain led by example.

George Kruis – 6.5
He’s in there for his prowess at the lineouts and it showed today. Kept his head down and legs pumping in the pack engine room.

Peter O’Mahony – 6
A solid game from the nuisance at the breakdown. Battled well, both in attack and defence. Stole an early lineout.

Sean O’Brien – 7
Cracking display from the Leinster openside. Such a fluid loose forward capable of running with purpose, cover tackling and getting to the breakdown first. Textbook.

Toby Faletau – 7
A fearless display from the Bath battler. Put his body on the line with some powerful charges and retained the ball well in contact. Another try saving chop tackle sums up his form and drive.

Replacements

Ken Owens – 6
Came on to close the game out and keep the pressure on up front. Replaced George 66’

Jack McGrath – 6
Another member of the cavalry to keep the pack and scrum tight late on. Replaced Vunipola 62’

Dan Cole – 6
The cool experienced head atop the massive neck of Dan Cole was much needed to keep the scrum and pack composed. Got the job done. Replaced Furlong 66′

Maro Itoje – 6.5
Big fan of the young man and such an asset to have on the bench. Incredible work rate, big hits to announce his arrival and great breakdown work. Replaced Kruis 62′

CJ Stander – 6
Came off the bench with purpose to carry well and use his strength to avoid the turnover. Will be disappointed he fluffed a try scoring opportunity. Replaced O’brien 56′

Rhys Webb – N/A

Jonny Sexton – 7
Vastly improved performance and gave another option in terms of distribution and kicking when called upon to Murray and Farrell. The combination works well. Replaced Davies 28’

Anthony Watson – 7
Came on in place of Hogg to cover as fullback. Looked energetic and has done his test chances no end of good with some great counter-attacking runs. Replaced Hogg 21′

Worthy Mention
Not a player this time, but an incident. Refreshing to see a suspected George North high tackle reviewed and found to be legal, particularly after the dangerous tackle debacle with Steff Evans in the Pro12 Semi-final. Common sense prevailed and the gasps of the crowd reacting to the slo-mo TMO had no effect, good refereeing and good interpretation of the laws.

Last thoughts and collated ratings

Overall team rating – 6.77

First XV rating* – 7.03

Individual nation ratings

Scotland player rating – 6.00
England player rating – 7.00
Wales player rating – 6.50
Ireland player rating – 6.86

*Composed of those who played the most minutes. For those replaced in the first half, an average is taken i.e. Hogg 6, Watson 7, average 6.5.

A strong showing all round but especially from the English. Farrell played his part marshalling the backs and controlling the flow and tempo of the game. He’s shot to the top of Gatland’s starting team sheet as has his Saracens’ colleague, Vunipola. In all, the coaching staff will be pleased with the performance despite a lack of tries. They will surely come, but this victory over the Crusaders signifies that tides have changed and the Lions are forming a cohesive team, where each game minute is a minute forming closer partnerships with team mates. There’s no magical formula or style of play, they simply need to get used to each other. For this Lions’ squad to play at their best and stand a chance in the tests, they need to all be on the same page and that’s when the tries will come.

By Dave Beach