British and Irish Lions vs Crusaders as it happened: Owen Farrell inspires Lions to impressive defensive win
Follow the latest as it happened from AMI Stadium in Christchurch
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Your support makes all the difference.The British and Irish Lions face the Super Rugby leaders the Canterbury Crusaders in the third match of their tour of New Zealand, with Warren Gatland’s squad looking to get back to winning ways after losing to the Blues last time out. Follow the latest here.
- Crusaders vs the British and Irish Lions kicks off at 19:35 local time [08:35 BST]
- Sam Warburton ruled out with ankle injury
- Alun Wyn Jones captain the Lions in Warburton’s absence
- Conor Murray and Owen Farrell both make first starts
- Sean O’Brien, Jonathan Davies and George North make first appearances
Follow the live action below...
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What TV channel is it on?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports 1 from 08:00 BST.
Teams
Crusaders: Israel Dagg; Seta Tamanivalu; Jack Goodhue, David Havili, George Bridge; Richie Mo’unga, Bryn Hall; Joe Moody, Codie Taylor, Owen Franks; Luke Romano, Sam Whitelock; Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, Matt Todd; Jordan Taufua.
Replacements: Ben Funnell, Wyatt Crockett, Michael Alaalatoa, Quinten Strange, Jed Brown, Mitchell Drummond, Mitchell Hunt, Tim Bateman.
British and Irish Lions: Stuart Hogg; George North, Jonathan Davies, Ben Te’o, Liam Williams; Owen Farrell, Conor Murray; Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Tadhg Furlong; Alun Wyn Jones, George Kruis; Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien, Taulupe Faletau
Replacements: Ken Owens, Jack McGrath. Dan Cole, Maro Itoje, CJ Stander, Rhys Webb, Jonathan Sexton, Anthony Watson.
Good morning in the UK, good evening in New Zealand, and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the third match of the British and Irish Lions tour as they take on the Crusaders at AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
Little over 15 minutes until kick off and the Lions face what has been dubbed the "fourth Test" such is the difficulty of opposition they face today. The Crusaders are the most successful side in Super Rugby and although they have gone eight seasons without the title, they are currently top of Super Rugby with 14 wins from 14...
Here's a reminder of the teams for today, with the first Test exactly 14 days away...
Crusaders: Israel Dagg; Seta Tamanivalu; Jack Goodhue, David Havili, George Bridge; Richie Mo’unga, Bryn Hall; Joe Moody, Codie Taylor, Owen Franks; Luke Romano, Sam Whitelock; Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, Matt Todd; Jordan Taufua.
Replacements: Ben Funnell, Wyatt Crockett, Michael Alaalatoa, Quinten Strange, Jed Brown, Mitchell Drummond, Mitchell Hunt, Tim Bateman.
British and Irish Lions: Stuart Hogg; George North, Jonathan Davies, Ben Te’o, Liam Williams; Owen Farrell, Conor Murray; Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Tadhg Furlong; Alun Wyn Jones, George Kruis; Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien, Taulupe Faletau
Replacements: Ken Owens, Jack McGrath. Dan Cole, Maro Itoje, CJ Stander, Rhys Webb, Jonathan Sexton, Anthony Watson.
Warren Gatland said after the defeat to the Blues that he didn't think the All Blacks would be that much better. He could be about to discover how wrong he is here...
This is probably the strongest Lions side Gatland has named so far. A lot of Test team contenders taking the field here today and a very strong bench. Alun Wyn Jones leads out the sides at the AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
They are facing FOUR World Cup winners today, including Sam Whitelock, who leads out the Crusaders. Now, it's Haka time.
Owen Farrell, in his first start of the tour, gets the game underway and we're off!
1 mins: So close from the Lions immediately! Jonathan Davies finds a gap and piles through it. George North is on his shoulder and he tries to find his countryman but it is intercepted. Positive start.
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