The Lions finally show some crusading spirit

The pre-game show at AMI Park on Saturday evening featured medieval knights in Crusader livery galloping around the edges of the playing surface, whirling flashing blades above their heads as they tried to whip up some fervour in the rain-sodden crowd.

In reality, it was the British and Irish Lions who urgently needed an infusion of that crusading spirit.

After the loss to the Blues, they had to demonstrate that they were not just in New Zealand to receive a series of humiliating conversions to the Kiwi way, but do some proselytising of their own.

To their credit, at long last they began to resemble what they are truly supposed to be – an international team composed of the best players from the four Home Nations.

In the course of their 12-3 victory over the Crusaders, they taught a few important lessons about the strengths of Northern Hemisphere rugby and gave notice of some of the areas in which they may look to threaten the All Blacks in the approaching Test series.

The Lions will look to challenge the All Blacks in all aspects of the aerial game – at the lineout, at restarts and in backfield defence – areas in which New Zealand has reigned supreme over the last five or six years. Injuries may affect that dominance drastically.

The New Zealand coaching panel has to contend with long-term issues for two of the players central to their lineout: captain and caller Kieran Read, and hooker Dane Coles, who throws the ball in.

Coles’ concussion is particularly worrying and the chances of him playing a part in the Test series are non-existent. As Read knows from his own head injury back in 2014 (which kept him out of the three-Test series against England), recovery cannot be rushed.

“Pressure is something you don’t want to have on your shoulders. You’ve just got to give him as much time as he needs – it’s an injury where we just need him to get right,” Read told Newstalk ZB.

“Certainly, he’s pretty vital to our team, but his health is even more so…

“I know, across the board, you’re not going to go against advice if they tell you you’re risking permanent damage.”

In the Sky commentary on the game, Stuart Barnes remarked that he had met Read before the match. As the pair went to shake hands, Read winced and pulled his hand away in pain. Clearly, the broken thumb on a right hand which had already undergone an off-season operation is not yet right.

AP Photo/Martin Cleaver

It is hard to see Read starting the first Test against the Lions on June 24, with no rugby under his belt, and without the benefit of any participation whatsoever in the All Blacks’ warm-up fixture against Samoa this coming Friday evening.

The absence of both Coles and Read would place immediate strain on the All Blacks’ lineout. Captaining the lineout from the back-row is unusual, but Read has proven himself both an outstanding leader and the best receiving back-rower in the world over the past seasons.

The All Blacks have no-one else remotely like him in their squad, which means they may be effectively one jumper down for the first Test at Eden Park. Lineout captaincy would devolve to Sam Whitelock, while Coles’ absence would also increase the possibility of Codie Taylor replacing him at No.2.

Taylor and Whitelock play together routinely at the Crusaders, but the combination did not work out particularly well on Saturday night. Against a strong Lions’ defensive lineout, featuring Peter O’Mahony at #6 for the first time on tour, Taylor lost three of his first four throws and the Crusaders finished with an unimpressive 70 per cent win ratio on their ball.

O’Mahony has consistently proven to be excellent value at the front and middle of defensive lineout for both Ireland and his club side Munster:

This was the third lineout the Crusaders lost on their own throw. Although at 6’3″, O’Mahony is three inches shorter than his opponent, Luke Romano, meaning the dynamic factors are much more relevant.

Romano is up first, but O’Mahony’s elevation is much quicker. By the time both reach the highest point of their jumps, O’Mahony has made up the better part of two to three feet in the air.

With the Lions potentially able to strengthen their defensive lineout even further by introducing Maro Itoje as George Kruis’ partner at second row, this could be an area in which the Kiwis find themselves under unexpected pressure.

The same logic applies to restarts. Once again, this has been an area of world-leading strength for New Zealand rugby over the past few years, but that logic was turned on its head in the Crusaders game. The home team won none of their five kick-offs, but the Lions recovered two of theirs while creating two genuine scoring opportunities directly from them:

Neither #1 George Bridge not #13 Jack Goodhue is close enough to Richie Mo’unga’s kick to contest Alun Wyn Jones, or big enough to have an impact on the Lions’ blocking front as he returns to earth. This gives the Lions a comfortable receipt and exit.

Lions’ kick-offs told a very different story:

Owen Farrell’s kicks are both more advanced and enjoy better hang-time than Mo’unga’s. As a result, there are five Lions chasers in the frame and at least two of them are level with or past the ball as it reaches the receiver.

With Romano misjudging the flight, Jones was able to recover the first kick, and Liam Williams went through to regather the second only metres from the Crusaders’ goal-line.

After a couple of prep phases, the Lions were able to set up attacks on the inexperienced Crusaders’ midfield combination on both occasions:

In the first frame, Farrell was able to attract the eyes of three Crusaders defenders (inside-to-out Matt Todd, Joe Moody and centre Jack Goodhue) by taking the ball right to the advantage line in two hands. On this occasion, he released Jonathan Davies to skip past Goodhue on the outside, only for George Bridge to intercept the final pass with an excellent blocking run.

In the second example, Farrell cut back inside Goodhue when he over-compensated for the first mistake and there was an inviting gap for Davies to run into on the short ‘unders’ angle.

The two sides’ kicking games in wet, slithery conditions offered a complete contrast in approach. Where Mo’unga and Israel Dagg either kicked long or for touch, the Lions concentrated on high, contestable kicks – mostly box-kicks from Conor Murray down the right touch-line.

Murray really is an expert of the highest class in these situations, and he varies his kicks depending on what the defence gives him. With the backfield D sitting back in their armchairs, he targetted the space in front of them; when they tried to come up and squeeze the space, he went long in behind.

On one occasion, he did both in the space of two consecutive phases:

Murray is not under much pressure in the first frame. The one blocker over Murray’s kicking side (Tadhg Furlong) is quite enough and Todd does not get anywhere near Murray’s kicking foot.

As the kick descends, it is clear that the scenario with restarts has been repeated. There are three Lions closer to the ball than their opposites, with both CJ Stander (“2”) and Owen Farrell (“3”) in A1 position to pick up deflections off the aerial contest between the two Georges, North and Bridge. With a four-inch advantage in height and ten extra kilos in weight, that is a competition North is always likely to win.

After the Lions reclaimed the ball, Murray immediately saw the opportunity for a different kind of kick.

Against the one-man backfield, championed by esteemed Roar author ‘Highlander’ in this article, there was space to the corners, and Murray put in an inch-perfect, overspun kick which Dagg alone had no way of covering.

Over the course of the game, the Lions either forced an error or turnover on seven of the 16 contestable kicks they attempted, for an excellent 44 per cent pay-off. The rate of return improved to five from ten, or 50 per cent on Murray’s box-kicks down the right sideline. George Bridge gave up three turnovers on those kicks, with Dagg and David Havili weighing in with one each.

Translate this to the Test stage, and there is Julian Savea sitting on that sideline – and he is the weakest member of the likely All Blacks’ back three under the high ball. It will be a fascinating challenge.

The Lions also demonstrated that they were well-prepared defensively for the cross-kick, a tactic which has been so spectacularly successful for Beauden Barrett against the rush defence this season.

Out of four attempts at variations of the cross-kick, neither Mo’unga nor replacement Mitch Hunt had any successes:

The first example comes from an attacking scrum on the right. The cross-kick reached Bridge on the far side, but when he received the ball he found himself outnumbered by two Lions defenders – his opposite number North and fullback Stuart Hogg – who promptly picked him up and drove him into touch.

The second example was a neat move right at the death, with Hunt switching play back to the near-side from a lineout – but, once again, the kick was well-covered by acting fullback Liam Williams (“2”), Murray (“1”) with inside help from O’Mahony (“3”).

The Lions’ well-prepared defence against the attacking kicking game was reinforced by Tommy Seymour’s interception try against the Highlanders earlier this evening (available at 42:20 on the following highlights reel).

Summary
The Crusaders match will have offered the Lions a few rays of hope – not just in proof positive that they can take on and beat New Zealand teams in their own backyard, but in tactical terms and specific areas of the game.

Warren Gatland and his coaches will see the aerial contest and related kicking game as areas where the Lions may be able to outplay the All Blacks. Especially if Kieran Read is absent for the first Test at Eden Park, and the Lions find a way to pack Peter O’Mahony, George Kruis and Maro Itoje into the same defensive lineout, they will see that department of the game as a winnable contest.

Owen Farrell’s restart kicking, and Conor Murray’s box-kicking will likewise offer solid grounds for the Lions’ belief that New Zealand can be challenged successfully under the high ball.

On the defensive side of the ball, Andy Farrell will also be greatly encouraged that Kiwi teams have yet to find a way to unlock the Lions’ rush defence via the cross-kick or kick-pass to the far wing.

It all adds much more substance to a Test series that New Zealand supporters were beginning to write off as a walk-over.