Crusaders v Lions: Key talking points for crucial Christchurch clash
By Keith Moore and Tony Tighe
Last Updated: 09/06/17 6:56pm
The British and Irish Lions' task gets decidedly more difficult on Saturday when they face an in-form Crusaders, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 8am.
The Crusaders have yet to taste defeat this season, winning all 14 of their Super Rugby fixtures, and they have named nine All Blacks in their match-day squad.
After underwhelming performances against the Barbarians and Blues, can the Lions kick-start their tour with a victory in Christchurch? We examine five key talking points…
Making history for the wrong reasons
Before Gatland's squad jetted south there were many column inches devoted to the tourists' determination to emulate the Lions squad of 1971, the only time they have won a series win in New Zealand in 11 attempts.
But after Wednesday's defeat to the Blues they could become the first Lions side to lose successive non-Test matches in the professional era.
The last time it occurred was in 1993 when the Lions were beaten by Auckland (23-18) and Hawke's Bay (29-17) in the space of four days.
The bookies expect the Lions to set an unwanted record, with the red-hot Crusaders favourites to win Saturday's clash.
A win in Christchurch would give the Lions a much-needed confidence boost; another defeat and the Highlanders will fancy their chances of extending that losing run on Tuesday.
Farrell factor
Owen Farrell made an enormous difference when he came off the bench in the Lions' outing against the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians.
The 25-year-old was heavily involved in the winning try, throwing a long pass to Ross Moriarty to create the initial break before supporting well to feed Anthony Watson for the score.
With Johnny Sexton struggling for form and Dan Biggar currently sidelined with concussion, there is added pressure on Farrell to lead the charge for the Lions in New Zealand.
The question ahead of the tour was whether Farrell and Sexton would play together for the Lions in the same way that Farrell operates alongside George Ford for England, but the Saracen now has a chance to nail down the No 10 shirt by driving his side to an important win against the unbeaten Crusaders.
Christian Cullen and Zinzan Brooke were both highly critical of the Lions' kicking game against the Blues, with Rhys Webb putting too much purchase on his box kicks and Sexton kicking aimlessly downfield after only a couple of phases.
There should be no such issues with Farrell and his half-back partner Conor Murray, who are two of the best kickers in the game and can put the squeeze on the opposition.
Test midfield opportunities
If Farrell does become the favourite to start at fly-half it opens up the options for Gatland in the midfield. Jonathan Davies played all 240 minutes of the Test series against the Wallabies in 2013, so is clearly highly rated by the Lions boss.
Gatland admitted centre could pose him the biggest selection conundrum when he finally starts to draw up his Test team, but says he is excited to see how Ben Te'o and Jonathan Davies combine this weekend.
"It will be interesting to see how they go," said Gatland. "Ben went very well in that first game.
"We picked Ben because he's got more to his game than just crashing up. He's got offloading ability, good footwork, he's explosive over a short space. And he's a good, strong defensive player, particularly at 12.
"And Jonathan's been playing very well recently in the last few weeks for the Scarlets. He brings that experience.
"When it comes to picking the Test side, that's probably going to be one of the hardest to pick, getting that combination right."
Where's the cutting edge?
We are two games into the tour and the Lions have scored just two tries, one of which came from a driving maul.
All but three points against Blues came from the set piece. Rob Howley talked of 'chaos' ahead of the game but the only confusion was in the Lions backline, which again failed to spark.
Nobody is expecting the Lions to carve up defences with an array of Sonny Bill-style offloads but the lack of cutting edge is a major concern.
The performance of the forward pack was the big positive from the Blues defeat. Good work at the ruck, scrum, and the majority of lineouts provided quality ball for the backs. It's time they started utilising it.
Front-five pedigree
Saturday's battle up front sees 10 of the best tight forwards from either side of the equator face off against each other.
Jamie George, Mako Vunipola and Maro Itoje all won back-to-back Six Nations with England and successive Champions Cup titles with Saracens increased their international stock. Alun Wyn Jones is the second-most capped Wales international of all time, while Sean Fitzpatrick said earlier in the week that Tadhg Furlong is "arguably the best tighthead prop in world rugby".
Against them is the bulk of the All Blacks pack that successfully defended their World Cup title in 2015 with Joe Moody, Owen Franks and Sam Whitelock all starting in the final at Twickenham, while Luke Romano and Codie Taylor were part of the wider squad.
What promises to be a frenetic game will be largely decided by how much ball each respective backlines are afforded, with two world-class tight fives looking to go blow-for-blow at AMI Stadium to starve the other of possession.
Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Seta Tamanivalu, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 David Havili, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo'Unga, 9 Bryn Hall; 1 Joe Moody, 2 Codie Taylor, 3 Owen Franks, 4 Luke Romano, 5 Sam Whitelock (c), 6 Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, 7 Matt Todd, 8 Jordan Taufua.
Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Quinten Strange, 20 Jed Brown, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Tim Bateman.
British and Irish Lions: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Conor Murray; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Jamie George, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 5 George Kruis, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 7 Sean O'Brien, 8 Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 CJ Stander, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Johnny Sexton, 23 Anthony Watson.
