The Lions suffered their first defeat of the 2017 tour, putting in an ill-disciplined performance against the Blues and were duly undone by a few moments of magic from player-of-the-moment Rieko Ioane and (who else?) Sonny Bill Williams.

The Lions are still waiting to discover their mojo and definitely need to work on reducing their penalty count – 13 is too many against any side, let alone a Super Rugby team with the kind of strike power the Blues feature.

Good job the next match is an easy one that should give them a chance to regroup. Oh wait…

Next up are the Crusaders, Super Rugby’s leading team (by contrast, the Blues are bottom of the New Zealand pool) and a side boasting at least four of New Zealand’s likely test squad forwards in Joe Moody, Owen Franks, Codie Taylor and Sam Whitelock, with that two-time world cup winner, Israel Dagg lurking at fullback. Not to mention a host of other exciting talent. Who said this tour would be easy?

Warren Gatland has made good on his word to try and give every tour member a start in the first three matches, so the likes of Jonathan Davies, George North, Conor Murray, Sean O’Brien, Peter O’Mahony and Owen Farrell start.

There is also a hint of the Lions’ possible test team about this side – despite Gatland’s comments to the contrary.

Certainly, the Murray/Farrell pairing is in pole position to start on 24 June, while you could argue the front row of Vunipola, George and Furlong will as well. In the second row, Alun Wyn Jones captains, and being a favourite of Gatland’s you might expect him to be there in the first test (the debate over his form withstanding), while George Kruis has his chance to cement his place as the form lock from the northern hemisphere. We saw how a momentarily malfunctioning lineout cost the Lions against the Blues – something that has seen Kruis’ value, and his Saracens colleague George, skyrocket. Kruis’ duel with All Black lineout-guru Whitelock should be fascinating.

In the backs, Liam Williams gets an opportunity to atone for his poor performance and yellow card – but let’s not forget, he was fantastic against New Zealand last summer for Wales. If he can rediscover that form, he is a real contender. Ditto Stuart Hogg – the two-time Six Nations player of the championship should not be written off after a couple of errors in that opening game against the NZ BaaBaas.

George North gets his chance on the wing, but more interestingly we see a very ‘Gatland’ centre pairing of Ben Te’o and Jonathan Davies. That is some real power between those two, but don’t be deceived, a fair bit of skill too. Should they gel quickly as a unit, I wouldn’t bet against it being the starting pairing to take on the All Blacks.

So how will this game go? Well this is probably the strongest Lions team named yet. That said, they also face probably the toughest opposition of the tour outside of the NZ Maori and the All Blacks. The Lions will get better and better with each passing day, but I think this is a sizeable speedbump, and one they will struggle to overcome at this early juncture. Another loss for the Lions unfortunately.

My prediction: Crusaders by 10

What is your prediction for the match?

By Henry Ker