Justin Marshall: Lions showed their big weapon in win over Crusaders

Matt Todd is tackled by two Lions defenders. Photo / Brett Phibbs

There is no doubt in my mind that the British and Irish Lions targeted the Crusaders as a critical match.

They would have been told there was a staunch challenge coming and they were possibly looking a couple of games ahead to this one. The performances in the previous two possibly reflected that.

Warren Gatland and his coaching group showed the ultimate respect for the Crusaders by naming a team which was close to test strength.

Did the game live up to expectations and hype? There were no tries, so probably not in terms of attack, but as far as a contest goes, I believe it did.

The Lions haven't given away a lot, but one of their big weapons was clearly on display in Christchurch, and that was their defence.

They showed in the second half against the Provincial Barbarians, and in the majority of the match against the Blues, that they have the ability to put pressure on there.

The Crusaders' inside backs were squeezed for time and space, and they couldn't get any rhythm with speed of ball and their usual method of punching up the middle and hitting the flanks.

As difficult as this is for me, a former Crusader, to say, I think the Lions' victory was a good thing for the tour. I think in terms of the Lions' supporters starting to arrive and the New Zealand public wondering about the quality of this squad, the tour needed it.

I would have preferred it not to be against my old franchise, but the Lions boys desperately needed a win ahead of the Maori match in Rotorua next Saturday, and the first test at Eden Park a week later.

A few key players made a massive difference. Conor Murray reinforced his reputation as being close to the best halfback in the world. Owen Farrell, at No10 when originally he wasn't selected in that position, has solidified a test start there. Credit to Johnny Sexton, though, - he went well when he came on.

You'd have to say there is a real headache coming for Gatland in terms of the loose forward mix. Peter O'Mahony, Sean O'Brien, Toby Faletau and CJ Stander, when he came on, all performed very well and when you throw tour captain Sam Warburton into the mix, Gatland has big decisions to make.

The Kiwi public should now recognise that there are world-class players in this Lions group.

They lost Jonathan Davies and Stuart Hogg early on and they are influential players in their own right. But they still had the depth on the bench to comprehensively outscore the Crusaders in terms of rucks and mauls, possession and territory.

I know there has been criticism of referee Mathieu Raynal, but there's no point in complaining, it's about adapting, and the Lions certainly adapted better. I could hear that he wasn't communicating much, so the players had to be self-disciplined and the Crusaders lost on that score too.

The better team won and did so convincingly.