Rugby: Have the Lions revealed their strategy to beat the All Blacks?

Having been fairly awful in their first two outings, the British and Irish Lions will feel they jumped on to the right tactical and technical track in Christchurch.

In some areas they most certainly did. Their attitude was vastly improved. They had urgency and energy. They had presence at the contact areas and they had menace and confidence at the lineout.

On a cold, cold night on a tricky surface, the Lions earned their win with smart, low error rugby that saw Conor Murray and Owen Farrell relentlessly pepper the Crusaders with brilliantly placed high kicks.

The statistics say the Lions kicked from hand 36 times, but such was the accuracy and effectiveness of their work, it felt like it was a lot more.

It felt like more also because the Crusaders didn't cope so well at times. Their back three were pulled out of position at times and when they were in the right place, their execution was too often poor. Drop the ball, lose the game - that's how it goes, because from one mistake, the pressure builds.

But as much as the Lions can feel satisfied about getting the job done, so too must they be wary that they have shown a little too much of their hand to the All Blacks.

There will be a few variations and additions to their game come the tests, but essentially, what they offered in Christchurch is what they will offer at Eden Park.

An aggressive lineout, big ball carriers coming round the corner, incredible linespeed and a deadly kicking game are the core offerings. It's a workable plan, but enough to beat the All Blacks?

"We thought they were going to play that way - exactly as they did and we couldn't negate it," revealed Crusaders coach Scott Robertson. "He [All Blacks coach Steve Hansen] knows that but knowing Steve he will have done a lot of homework and his kick-chase plan and ability to turn them around will be a bit better than ours.

"We got into a kicking battle and we practised that all week. Our aerial skill set we just didn't nail it and Conor Murray is absolutely world class. He was just hanging it up there and we didn't deal with that. There will be a lot more of that to come. They got the job done."

This is the danger now for the Lions. They need to be careful they don't buy too hard into a gameplan that was good enough to beat a Super Rugby side but may not have such success against the All Blacks who are better prepared to deal with a kick-chase, tighter, grinding game.

The South Africans have found out the hard way many times that the All Blacks have a brilliant kicking game.

The Boks have discovered that kick too much to the All Blacks and they will punish teams with their ability to deal with the high ball and then return the pressure. What the All Blacks do is mop up the immediate threat and then turn opponents around, force them back into places they don't want to be.

Don't kick well enough and the All Blacks will punish teams with their counter attack. Ben Smith, Israel Dagg, Beauden Barrett and Julian Savea don't need much space to get going - one over hit bomb and it could be try time.

So it is going to be a finely balances risk and reward equation for the Lions. They have given the All Blacks a good look at their plan and a sharp reminder of what will matter come the tests.

"It shows that if you are giving away penalties, not executing your skills by dropping the ball, you put pressure on yourself," said Crusaders captain Sam Whitelock.

"You have to make sure you can absorb that pressure and turn it around and apply it back."