British and Irish Lions 2017: Owen Farrell and Warren Gatland back Ben Te'o, the man who might upset the Test party

Te’o will start his second match of the tour on Saturday when he lines up outside Farrell at inside centre against the Crusaders in what looks to be the toughest match before the All Blacks

Ben Te'o could be a bolter for starting spot in the first Test (Getty)

The big question for the British and Irish Lions squad before they left for New Zealand was very much whether Warren Gatland would look to pair Jonathan Sexton with Owen Farrell in a 10-12 combination. One week into the tour, England centre Ben Te’o has very much crashed the party.

Te’o will start his second match of the tour on Saturday when he lines up outside Farrell at inside centre against the Crusaders in what looks to be the Lions' most challenging match before they face the All Blacks.

The 30-year-old Auckland-born centre was selected by Gatland in something of a surprise call, but the head coach has been insistent that his decision to include the former Samoa rugby league international was not simply to utilise his crash-ball ability.

“Ben Te’o played well in the first game,” Gatland said ahead of this Saturday’s match against the unbeaten Super Rugby leaders at AMI Stadium. “We didn’t pick him as somebody we wanted to crash up. We picked him because he has got more to his game than that with his offloading ability. He has got some good footwork and is explosive. He’s a good strong defensive player in that 12 area.

“When it comes to picking the Test side, that’s going to be one of the hardest positions for us to pick, getting that combination right. You’ve got Jared Payne, Robbie Henshaw Jonathan Joseph. You can put Elliot Daly in there. The midfield is going to be one of the toughest calls for us on tour, getting the balance and combination right.”

That may be why Gatland has decided to play Farrell as an out-and-out 10, despite the Saracens playmaker starring for England over the last 18 months at inside centre. By naming both Sexton and Dan Biggar in the squad along with Farrell, Gatland has the option of playing the European Rugby Player of the Year as an extra centre, but Te’o’s form has given him plenty of food for thought.

It was an improved performance from the Lions against the Blues but they couldn't get over the line (Getty)

Farrell appeared to strike up a strong partnership with Te’o in the Six Nations championship earlier this year, with the former setting up the latter to dive over for the match-winning try against France.

“He's powerful, mate,” said Farrell of Te’o. “He's good at playing through the line. He's brilliant off both feet and he makes stuff happen around him, whether it be little offloads through the line, holding players up and tipping people in.

“He's been around some high-profile games, played with some brilliant teams and he knows what big games are all about. So that's a great experience to have coming into this tour.”

Wednesday’s defeat by the Blues could potentially be put down to a lack of experience, with 11 of the starting XV at Eden Park making their maiden Lions start.

“Yeah, potentially, it's just hard to put your finger on it now,” said Irish prop Jack McGrath. “It has to be dissected, we'll have a look at it tonight, tomorrow and it'll be put to bed.

Things haven't quite clicked yet for Gatland's men (Getty)

“I'm not sure what the lads were thinking on the pitch because I was in the dugout but you would have thought we could have eked out a win, but it was a great try by them and hat's off to them, they [the Blues] were very good.”

Ever the calm head though, Farrell stressed that the squad can learn just as much from their defeats as they can their warm-up victories, and he also explained how the development of this side – something it needs a fair bit of over the next two weeks – can come not from the 80 minutes that is seen on the pitch but what they do in training, team meetings and their down time.

“You’ve got to go in the right direction,” Farrell added. “It doesn't all have to go one way. Some of your best learning comes from losses. You're looking that bit closer and take more from it. What we've got to get right now is making sure we learn, get better, improve and get on that path to where we want to go to.

"That's the challenge now. It's not just the boys who played at the weekend, it's the boys who didn't who have got to take learnings from the game and make sure we keep that momentum going in terms of going in the right direction.”

If the Lions can become the first side to beat the Crusaders this season, the tour will very much feel back on track, yet defeat will mean that the squad cannot afford another loss if they are to take any momentum into the Test series. What is for certain, though, is the Lions must up their game immediately if they are to get back to winning ways, and a Farrell-Te’o solution may just be the ticket.