Conor Murray believes that the Lions have responded well to the criticism that was dished out to the squad following their stuttering opening to the tour.
The Lions delivered their most commanding performance thus far in a 32-10 demolition of the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua today.
Murray, hailed as "probably" the best scrum half in the world by former New Zealand coach Graham Henry this week, would appear to be a certainty for the starting line-up in the opening test against the All-Blacks next Saturday.
Murray says that the team are starting to gel as a unit.
"I think in the first 20 minutes of the second half we sent a message and it was really positive from us to get those scores and get that distance in front. You could see lads enjoying it out there which is what it’s all about," Murray told reporters.
"To get the win was really important and performance on top of that was massively important as well. After the loss the other night we were hurting a little bit, and after the loss before there was criticism and you have to take that and build on it. I thought we responded quite well tonight.
"When the team goes well we tend to get praise and when it goes poorly you tend to get stick. You have to look at the players around us."
The Lions owed their two second half tries to their absolute domination of the scrum. Leading 15-10, and with their opponents reduced to 14 men following the sin-binning of scrum half Tawera Kerr-Barlow, the Lions scrum engineered a penalty on 51 minutes.
Only minutes later, another five metre scrum resulted in another seven-pointer. Taulupe Faletau drove from the base of the scrum but was repelled on the line. And from there, powerful Saracens lock Maro Itoje picked up the ball and burrowed under the defensive cover from close range to register the game's second try.
Murray asserts that the dominance of the pack was one of the key factors underpinning the victory.
"For me the pack did really well. They put us on the front foot. The set piece was really good. Some of our mauling was massive and gave us opportunities to run.
"Johnny with the likes of Ben outside him, they’re running really good lines and strong ball carriers. They put us on the front foot and make things easier. I was happy with how I went and Johnny went well but you have to look at the players around. They help you control a game like that," he said.
"It’s about figuring out combinations and what’s working for us. There are a lot of things that we are doing really effectively and there are a few things that we’re trying to work on.
"We’re a new squad – we are a lot more familiar than we were - but we’re not a team that have been together a long time. We have to iron out those creases and gel as much as we can.
"There are definitely massive positives from tonight. The first test is a week away so it’s exciting. It’s good that we got a win and a performance to lead into that.
"Things are going well right now but you see the All Blacks the other night....this is a massive test. We have to kick on again."
