Rugby: Kicking game peril for Lions

Lions halfback Rhys Webb clears the ball. Photo / Brett Phibbs

What is becoming clear as the British and Irish Lions tour takes another detour into mediocrity is the threat that quick ruck ball poses to them.

They won't encounter Beauden Barrett until the first test at Eden Park a week on Saturday but the All Blacks No 10 will start against Samoa at the same venue tomorrow, and the Lions will be interested observers because, going by their performance in the defeat by the Highlanders, Barrett has the potential to rip them apart.

His kicking game - either short for himself or others, or in the wide channels - is among the best in New Zealand, and while the Lions got some change out of the Highlanders' kicking under the roof in Dunedin, with intercept try-scorer Tommy Seymour an obvious beneficiary, the home side did well here overall, and Barrett has the ability to create chaos in behind the red defensive line.

The Highlanders created quick ruck ball thanks to impressive physical work up front by Liam Coltman, Dillon Hunt, Alex Ainley and Luke Whitelock and especially unheralded lock Jackson Hemopo and, just as impressively, got back to slow the Lions' ball even after being breached.

That takes desire and physical fitness and the Highlanders taught the tourists a lesson on both fronts.

So the Lions have a difficult balancing act ahead in order to contain Barrett, whose running game will also cause them fits. Slow the ball, but don't give away penalties - they gave up 12 on Tuesday, with many coming in the crucial final quarter - and charge up on defence but be wary of the kicks in behind or to width.

The beauty of Barrett's ability from an All Blacks perspective is the chaos he can also cause with his running game, even from set piece. Cast your mind back to one of the All Blacks' final tests of last year - the 21-9 "revenge" victory against Ireland in Dublin, when Barrett ran left from an attacking scrum and halfback Conor Murray couldn't stay with him.

Murray is one of the best halfbacks in the world and appeared to have an idea that Barrett would take him on, but the 26-year-old Barrett was just too quick.

Much of this tour has been about the battle of the No 10s and that is set to continue. Marty Banks knew he would be replacing first-five Lima Sopoaga after 50 minutes due to the latter's likelihood of a bench role behind Barrett in the first test following Aaron Cruden's knee injury.

The stage was set for a remarkable player who seems to have played a hand in all of his team's recent big moments - and most significantly their championship win over the Hurricanes in 2015.

"Their line speed was pretty incredible against the Crusaders, so we needed to take that out of them early in the game, to try to slow them down so we could play our attacking game," Banks said. "I think in the end, it helped us win the game because we took that away from them.

"Obviously they scored off one of our kicks but we needed to put pressure on them. It's the old clich - if you're not pressuring the kick with a kick-chase, then the kick isn't going to be great."

The Lions' wobbly, penalty-prone scrum is an area of concern for that first test, but a change in personnel, particularly in the front row, could mitigate against that. It might not be so easy shutting down Barrett.