Every successful Lions tour needs a rallying cry and “remember Christchurch” will now be the mantra of the 2017 expedition. New Zealanders, at the very least, will have to readjust their opinion of the supposed lightweights in their midst. The Lions gave easily their best performance so far, brushing aside disruptive backline injuries and local scepticism to confound those who felt they might not win another fixture on this trip. More than that, they breathed fresh life into this Lions enterprise, which would have struggled to escape a litany of gloomy provincial defeats. Their collective intensity and controlled physicality was right up where it needed to be and the victory margin could have been considerably wider. Four penalties from Owen Farrell ultimately proved sufficient in a try-less contest but it was the forwards who laid the Adidas Francois Beauchemin Authentic Jersey foundations. Against an opposing pack containing six All Blacks, there was a discernible edge lacking from the initial two matches in Whangarei and Auckland. Crusaders 3-12 British & Irish Lions: five talking points Gerard Meagher Read more Maybe it would have emerged in the Tests regardless but the Lions management now have first-hand evidence that even New Zealand’s leading provincial side, top of the Super Rugby standings and averaging 37 points per game, can have their attacking brilliance squeezed out of them. Here, broadly speaking, is surely the blueprint of how the All Blacks can be upset. Had the Lions not lost Stuart Hogg and Jonathan Davies to head injuries inside the first half-hour and not let three potential try-scoring chances slip away it might have been even more convincing. As it was Farrell and Conor Murray exerted impressive tactical control behind a pack that at last showed signs of living up to its advertised potential. George Kruis, Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Peter O’Mahony and Sean O’Brien did not feature in everyone’s starting Test XV before the tour started, but along with Tadhg Furlong, Alun Wyn Jones and Taulupe Faletau they all enhanced their reputations in these partsIt was a cracking encounter from start to finish, with the sides fully committed and pumped up on a cold evening. Two Farrell penalties gave the Lions an early advantage and their biggest early concern was the stray elbow from the otherwise excellent Murray that inadvertently struck his own full-back and forced the bloodied Hogg from the field. The Lions’ backline resources were further stretched when Davies was led away for a head injury assessment at the request of medical staff. Jonathan http://www.authenticfloridapanthers.com/authentic-henrik-borgstrom-... Sexton came on at 10, Farrell switched to 12 and Watson came on at full-back, an illustration of the Lions’ range of options and the versatility that Warren Gatland has deliberately opted for. Luckily their forwards already had the bit between their teeth with the home side, not helped by a slightly slippery, dew-laden ball, initially struggling to claim restarts and losing their first three lineouts. The Lions also had some joy in the scrums against an all-international front row, aside from one backpedalling loss of control that resulted in a mass scuffle and a penalty to the Crusaders, who had won all of their 17 games this yearFor a brief moment, as Murray burst away upfield with the French referee, Mathieu Raynal, playing advantage, it seemed as if the Lions might be looking at a hefty interval advantage but an attempted pass off the floor by Jones found a lurking Crusader instead of one of his own team-mates. The visitors were slightly fortunate to concede just three points from the resultant intense period of pressure close to their own line. Their 9-3 half-time advantage, however, was thoroughly merited and would have been extended had Farrell been awarded a 40-metre penalty he felt had sailed over but was ruled out by the referee’s assistants. The Lions wasted another points-scoring opportunity when a poor right to left pass from Ben Te’o made life unnecessarily hard for Liam Williams outside of http://www.officialcalgaryflames.com/Adidas-Brian-Elliott-Jersey him. CJ Stander also spilt a glorious chance after Watson had broken clear and split the defence wide open. In the final analysis it mattered not, with a fourth Farrell penalty in the 70th minute giving New Zealanders further food for thought with the first Test at Eden Park a fortnight away. Crusaders 3-12 Lions: tour match – as it happened Four penalties from Owen Farrell earned the Lions a morale-boosting win against the Crusaders to get their tour up and running Read more What a contest that will be if the All Blacks can be hassled and harried defensively, given scant time to think and repeatedly turned by the pinpoint kicking of Murray and Farrell. Despite having not operated in tandem in training, the Sexton-Farrell axis at 10 and 12 went reasonably well without dispelling the sense Gatland will opt for a bigger ball-carrier at inside centre. Te’o, that one stray pass apart, had another good game and the increasingly confident Watson may also have played himself into the Test 23. Among the other interesting conundrums is whether Sam Warburton, in line to return from a strained ankle against the Highlanders on Tuesday, has sufficient recent rugby in his legs to oust O’Brien. And who starts alongside Kruis, who must be a dead cert, in the second-row? Gatland still has some decisions to make but at least he now knows his best XV will be genuinely competitive. A minor tremor measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale was felt in the stadium after the game; if the Lions keep improving, a major shock could yet await in the Test series. Crusaders Dagg; Tamanivalu, Goodhue, Havili, Bridge (Bateman, 66); Mo’unga (Hunt, 74), Hall (Drummond, 62); Moody (Crockett, 51), Taylor (Funnell, 51), Franks http://www.officialdallasstars.com/Adidas-Bobby-Smith-Jersey (Alaalatoa, 51), Romano (Strange, 56), Whitelock (capt), Bedwell-Curtis (Brown, 62), Todd, Taufua Pen Mo’unga British & Irish Lions Hogg (Watson, 20); North, Davies (Sexton, 29), Te’o, Williams; Farrell, Murray; Vunipola (McGrath, 62), George (Owens, 66), Furlong (Cole, 66), Jones (capt), Kruis (Itoje, 62), O’Mahony, O’Brien (Stander, 56), Faletau Pens Farrell