Five things we learnt in Christchurch
The Farrell/ Sexton double act shows promise
Warren Gatland will have been impressed at how Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell combined in their 50 minutes together, as the pair regularly switched between 10 and 12.
It is so much harder to defend against two playmakers rather than one, while it also took the pressure off Sexton to allow him to find his best form.
Farrell is a certainty to start in the first Test but it would make sense to give him and Sexton another chance against the Maori next Saturday, with Ben Te’o the favourite to start outside them and the exceptional Conor Murray a certainty at scrum-half.
French referees could be vital
some of Mathieu Raynal’s decisions, particularly at scrum time. The Frenchman consistently decided the Lions had the upper hand against a Crusaders’ tight five consisting entirely of All Blacks and that will give the tourists real hope ahead of the Tests.
It was a ‘northern hemisphere’ style of refereeing the scrum, with angles and timing vital, and the fact that two of Raynal’s countrymen, Jérôme Garcès and Romain Poite, will take charge of two of the three Tests could make a huge difference.
Gatland may have a decision to make on his captain
Sean O’Brien was superb and really made his presence felt. It was the type of display that makes a coach sit up and take notice, but there is the looming presence of Sam Warburton.
The captain sat this one out with an ankle strain and there must now be concerns over whether he will be fit for the Tests. The flanker has played barely an hour of rugby in two months, and even with three warm-up matches to come there are concerns he could be under-cooked heading into that first Test, although O’Brien has also struggled with injury.
Could Gatland consider naming his captain on the bench? It would be a bold move and the New Zealander has always had an enormous amount of faith in Warburton. Now, though, there is at least a question mark over the captain.
Kruis a certainty for a Test shirt
It seems all but certain that George Kruis will be in the starting side for the first Test after he ran the line-out excellently and showed up very well in the loose. That leaves Gatland with difficult – but welcome – decisions. Leaving out the experience of Alun Wyn Jones or the youthful energy of Maro Itoje would be a huge call, while Courtney Lawes is in excellent form. The Lions have surely never had such a brilliant crop of locks.
Watson is England’s next full-back in waiting
Anthony Watson has shone in both his appearances for the Lions so far, and he enjoyed his 60 minutes at full-back yesterday when he came on for the dazed Stuart Hogg after the Scot’s unfortunate injury. Watson’s speed and counterattacking ability is enough to scare the All Blacks and on form a place should be found for him in the side, with the left wing slot currently most likely.
At the very least he has put pressure on both Hogg and Leigh Halfpenny for the full-back role - which is just as Gatland would like it.