Chiefs vs British and Irish Lions: Five things we learned as back three give Warren Gatland selection headache

The squad for the first Test against New Zealand will be named on Thursday

Nowell was scintillating in the dominant victory (Getty)

Daly and Nowell put pressure on North

Warren Gatland admitted on Sunday that he is still undecided on his back three for the first Test against New Zealand, and on this performance you can understand why. Anthony Watson looks to have nailed down the right wing, with Leigh Halfpenny a certainty at full-back providing he recovers from the head injury he suffered in the win over the Maori All Blacks. That leaves one place, with three solid candidates.

George North would be the current incumbent of the Test short, having starred for the Lions in 2013 and played in the games against the Crusaders and the Maori – the two sides that have been closest to the Test side. However, Daly has thrown his hand up for selection and strengthened his case with a lovely break down the left wing that led to a second try for Nowell, who did his chances a world of good with a double against the Chiefs in the 34-6 victory.

Nowell failed to show his best in his first two appearances, but this showing was exactly what Gatland was so keen to talk up earlier in the tour. You now would not be surprised to see Nowell feature in the Test series at some point, and that combined with Daly’s form could spell bad news for North.

Lions getting better and better

It may be fairly obvious given they were a band of individuals that only came together five weeks ago, but the Lions are improving with every day that goes by. The first half performance here was not their best, but the way they came out firing in the second displayed a team that has developed relationships and understanding.

Given this looked to be something of a midweek side, that’s a huge positive for Gatland. The Test candidates looked to cotton on a week earlier than their teammates, but the head coach now appears to have a squad that is on the same wave length across the board. That could be a pivotal factor during the Test series, given it is likely to be decided on the smallest of margins.

Biggar may be third in line but he’s playing his best rugby

Owen Farrell and Johnny Sexton are ahead of Dan Biggar in the fly-half pecking order, that much is certain, but there has not been one bad performance from the Welshman since arriving in New Zealand. Even in his opening game against the Blues where he was forced off with a head injury, Biggar showed glimpses of gold, and this performance was probably his best of the tour to-date.

The Ospreys stand-off ran the line with a commanding influence that helped to unlick the wide players around him, with great success, and he also did his share of tackling too. Granted, that nearly saw him pick up a yellow card for a high shot on No 8 Tom Sanders, but he showed a strong physicality for a 10 that is also shared by Farrell.

If the worst is to happen to Gatland’s side and they lose either Farrell or Sexton, they will be in safe hands with Biggar at the helm.

Chiefs looked like the B team that they were

You can’t be too critical of the Chiefs given that they were missing not only nine first-team players, but nine of their best players at that. The way that the Waikato side started the match looked like a team that had not spent an awful lot of time together, such was the errors that blighted their game.

Time and time again the lineout would falter with an overthrow or a steal, while they created almost nothing in terms of try-scoring opportunities and were limited to two first-half penalties from veteran fly-half Stephen Donald.

Had Dave Rennie had the likes of Aaron Cruden and Anton Linert-Brown available, the Chiefs may have been able to record another famous victory, but as it was, they were merely cannon fodder for the more talented Lions side.

Marler over-excited and underachieving

The biggest negative for the Lions was undoubtedly the yellow card that Joe Marler picked up within the first 12 minutes. The loosehead prop, not one to shy away from the physical side of the game, saw an opportunity to soften up his opposite man, tighthead Nepo Laulala, and put in a bone-shuddering no-arm tackle.

The biggest problem – including the shoulder charge – was that Laulala had passed the ball in good time behind him, and Marler’s tackle was not only late but dangerous. He deserved 10 minutes in the sin-bin for the hit, and that looks to have put paid to his Test chances unless injury strikes either Mako Vunipola or Jack McGrath.

Going into the tour, Marler was well in the Test mix after keeping a returning Vunipola out of the England side in the Six Nations, but now he very much looks like the third choice, and that’s disappointing.