Lions show they mean bloody business as three Irish players rate very highly

CRUSADERS 3-12 LIONS

That was much, much better from the British & Irish Lions. Much better. The tourists ground out a hard-fought victory over the best team in Super Rugby in Christchurch, with Owen Farrell [four penalties] and Conor Murray particularly stepping up. Here's how we rated Warren Gatland's men in red: Stuart Hogg - 5 Was tipping along well and just denied a try in his short stint on the pitch before a collision with Conor Murray ended his game after 18 minutes. George North - 7 May have backed himself to power over in the right-hand if he had more game-time under the belt. Strong and purposeful in defence. Jonathan Davies - 6 Another who was looking lively before a head knock ended his contribution. One knock-on near the tryline but it was a tough ask. Ben Te'o - 6 By no means certain of a Test spot as he mixed the good with sloppy. Poor pass to Williams cost the Lions a good try-scoring chance but he carried robustly. Liam Williams - 7 Much better than his first tour contribution in Auckland. One bad handling error in the Crusaders 22 but looked dangerous down his wing, with 80 metres gained and two clean breaks. Owen Farrell - 9 Played superbly and was at the heart of most everything good the Lions did. Sharp passing and kicking behind the Crusaders lines. Dropped into midfield after Davies went off and did well there too. Only blemish was a missed penalty that went over the right-hand post. Conor Murray - 9 Looks to have locked down the scrum-half berth for the Test Series. Controlled the tempo, passed crisply and kicked so intelligently. Was not afraid to take the ball on himself and tackled well when required. Mako Vunipola - 9 Good on ya Mako! [caption id="attachment_126252" align="alignnone" width="495"] Credit: Sky Sports[/caption] Not a bother to the big guy. Scrummed superbly, led the tackle count on 11 in his 60-minute stint. Jamie George - 8 Just the one poor lineout blip but had an excellent game and is right up for the scrap for that No.2 jersey. Not too many carries but he was a tackling machine. Some clearing kick too! Tadhg Furlong - 8 The Lions scrum gobbled up the Crusaders and Furlong was a massive part of it. Made a statement of intent carry early on and was pure brute force throughout his 65-minute shift. AW Jones - 7 Solid game from the Welshman and led the team brilliantly throughout a high-pressure match. A couple of missed tackles but he was a nuisance for Crusaders all game. George Kruis - 8 All set to start in the Test Series now. Ran the lineout well, showed intensity in the tackle and at the ruck and was part of a monstrous front five. Peter O'Mahony - 8 https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/873457042605961216 He is right in the picture for the All Blacks. Was excellent at the lineouts, in attack and defence, and provided very good protection for Conor Murray at scrum-half. Vital hack on at the start of the second half and won his team a penalty in front of the posts with a strong carry. Sean O'Brien - 7.5 His first game for over two months and he certainly blew out the cobwebs. Strong carries and feverish work around the park. Showed lovely hands in attack too and constantly got over the gainline. Toby Faletau 12 carries for 53 metres gained and 10 lusty tackles too. He is in there for his work-rate and while it can't be faulted, CJ Stander offers more of a tryscoring threat. But, he is favourite for that Test No.8 jersey.

Replacements

Anthony Watson (for Hogg '19) - 8 Definitely in line for a fullback start in the Tests after starring off the bench. Menacing attacker. Jonathan Sexton (for Davies '34) - 8 He's back! Sexton had a blinder and boy how he needed it. His defence was impressive and timed his passes well to put teammates into space. CJ Stander (for O'Brien '55) - 6 Strong carries but dropped one dolly with the tryline only 20 metres away. https://twitter.com/EoinMcDevitt/status/873463319369314304 Jack McGrath (for Vunipola '61) - 6 Scrum lost some of its grunt with all the changes made. Did well but now looking like back-up to Vunipola. Maro Itoje (for Kruis '61) - 6 One soaring lineout leap in the closing stages. Helped shut down the game. Dan Cole (for Furlong '65) - 6 Two strong carries at the end as the Lions wound down the clock. Ken Owens (for George '65) - 5 Solid as ever when he came on.