Rugby: How defeat to the Lions could pay off for the Crusaders

Crusaders fullback Israel Dagg drops a high ball. Photo / Brett Phibbs

There was a minor earthquake at AMI Stadium about an hour after the final whistle of the Lions' victory which quickly caught the attention of the travelling media pack and that of the shake-wary locals, but the Crusaders won't be rattled after this defeat in a one-off match. Their eyes will remain focused on the bigger prize.

In fact, their disappointment will force them to look at their game in new ways and could pay off in the long run.

Settled atop the Super Rugby table with 14 victories from 14 matches, the Crusaders' last match of the round-robin is against the Hurricanes in Wellington on July 15, and a win for Scott Robertson's men will guarantee them a home final, if they make it that far.

The Hurricanes will bring immense line speed on defence, but it probably won't be able to match that of the Lions at AMI Stadium in this 12-3 slugfest, with Richie Mo'unga in particular put under enormous pressure.

Mo'unga, so impressive this season and last, made several uncharacteristic errors; two handling mistakes put his side under a lot of pressure in the first half, but assistant coach Leon MacDonald spoke of the 23-year-old's resilience this week and he is likely to be better for it.

"It was one of the more frenetic line speeds that we've come under," head coach Robertson said. "It put us under a lot of pressure we couldn't create quick enough ball to get outside them; some big bodies flying at you. With those conditions, our skillset was really pressured. We just couldn't quite convert."

French referee Mathieu Raynal was not a popular figure among the 18,000 crowd for his constant penalties against the Crusaders' scrum, despite the home side getting dominance in this area.

But those rulings - mainly against the Crusaders for not keeping a gap before engagement - could benefit Robertson's team too.

"It's something we talked about at halftime," skipper Sam Whitelock said. "We just had to adapt quicker. I think we did that in the second half... It put us under pressure, they took the points and created scoreboard pressure.

"That's a lesson we'll take into the Hurricanes game when we get back."

Robertson said of Raynal's rulings: "I think the crowd's frustration with the ref was a reflection of the game. We have to be better at dealing with him on the field."

The other thing the Crusaders couldn't react quickly enough to was the Lions' kicking game, and especially that of halfback Conor Murray.

"We got into a kicking battle," Robertson said. "We practised that all week. Our skill set on attack we just didn't nail. Conor Murray is world class and it was just hanging it up there. We didn't deal with that. It wasn't a spectacle that we're used to - no tries, but they got the job done.

"On a positive note, I thought out defence was superb as well. Both teams were teeing off on each other. We probably felt more comfortable without the ball.

"As Skip [Whitelock] said, it was scoreboard pressure in the first half. Should we have taken the three points in the first half? Yes, probably."