Crusaders 25 Lions 17 - Immediate reaction

• Just how costly was that red card? Kwagga Smith getting an early shower was a big moment in the game, for sure. But at that stage the Crusaders had already opened up a handy lead and were in position to do what they did in the second half anyway. I’m pretty sure Scott Robertson would’ve told them to completely ignore the fact that they had a one-man advantage – except at scrum time. However, even then the Lions gained not only parity, but a few scrum penalties of their own.
• What a performance from some key All Blacks. Speaking of red cards, Sonny Bill’s suspension being overturned might not matter anyway given the sort of form Ryan Crotty is in. The Man Of The Match will have to be the front runner for the number 12 jersey in the upcoming Bledisloe Cup match against the Wallabies. Meanwhile, Kieran Read had a huge game, continuing on the great form he showed in the British & Irish Lions series. Sam Whitelock’s efforts can’t be ignored either.
• The Lions pretty much choked. Everything was stacked in their favour, with a big home crowd and their own ground for the entire finals series. Their first half was awful, and it took the injection of Faf de Klerk to make any sort of difference. It sadly mirrored their final performance last year, where they handed the Hurricanes a couple of tries and let them just plough out the time to finish the game.
• Can everyone shut up about neutral referees now? It was quite obvious Jaco Peyper had no bias whatsoever toward the Lions, repeatedly pinging them for all sorts of infringements and sending one of them off. If anything, he’s going to have a hard time making friends in Johannesburg from now on.

https://twitter.com/TshephoSes/status/893869219418439681

• The Crusaders have a new victory song, which is way better than the ‘Reuben Thorne’ one they used to do. Also, that was pretty generous of the Ellis Park ground announcer to play ‘We Are The Champions’ when the home side lost!