After producing a below-par display in their opening 13-7 victory over New Zealand Barbarians, the Lions face a significant step up in class when they face Sonny Bill Williams and the Blues.
With a near capacity crowd of 50,000 expected, Warren Gatland’s side hope to improve their attacking game after a series of 15 on 15 sessions in training.
“We want to improve on the performance from Saturday. Having been on the last two Lions tours, the challenge is coming together in terms of the way we want to play,” Howley said.
“Our daily training programme involves playing 15 on 15 and it’s a work in progress. The one thing we need to do is work on our foundations and have a framework whereby the players play what’s in front of them.
“We have to adapt and play what we see. The one thing the players have really enjoyed is rugby chaos, 15 on 15 in training. It’s very unstructured.
“We are all aware of the pace of the game in the southern hemisphere and it’s important we get up to speed as quickly as possible. That’s the challenge for us, it’s a continual learning process.
“The framework clearly isn’t in place, as you saw by the performance at the weekend, but we know we need to improve in the next couple of weeks.”
Gatland’s Lions struggled to get going against the Provincial Barbarians, Anthony Watson scoring their only try in what was an unconvincing narrow success.
With the whole side changed to face the Blues, Wales hooker Ken Owens captains a new-look team.
Fresh from the Scarlets’ Guinness PRO12 title win, Owens is joined by fellow Welshmen Leigh Halfpenny, Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb and Justin Tipuric in Gatland’s XV.
The Blues include dual code ace Williams and his fellow All Black in prop Charlie Faumuina.
Attack coach Howley believes that in halfback pairing Webb and Biggar – who play together for both Ospreys and Wales on a regular basis – the Lions can benefit from familiarity.
“Of course we want to be clinical and ruthless because in more than a couple of weeks we are playing against the most ruthless side in world rugby,” said the former scrum-half.
“The Blues have players looking to get into the All Blacks side and Sonny Bill Williams is one of those.
“They’re a physical side, they’re quite direct and they have great footwork. We’re aware of that defensively and we have to take our opportunities in attack.
“It’s obviously going to be a step up and we’re aware of that. It’s seven days since we arrived and hopefully we can improve on Saturday’s performance. We’ve chosen 15 players for this game and we can’t wait to see what identity they can put on our game.”
The Blues are battle-hardened from their Super Rugby campaign and are ready to do battle with the Lions on home turf. It’s a challenge they’re relishing, says skipper James Parsons.
“It’s a huge game and we are pretty excited. There is always a responsibility when you put on the Blues jersey and it’s a great opportunity for our players to show we can handle international rugby,” he said.
“The Lions have some of the best players in the world and I am sure they are just as excited about playing the game as us. They are going to look to be physical, we’ll need to match them there, and I’m sure it will be a special memory if we can get the result.
“This game is a one-off opportunity. There will be a different intensity compared to a Super Rugby game and it’s a result we are craving. There is no expectation on us. All the expectation is on the Lions and that’s great for us. We are just going to go out there and back our skills.”
British & Irish Lions: Leigh Halfpenny; Jack Nowell, Jared Payne, Robbie Henshaw, Elliot Daly; Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb; Jack McGrath, Ken Owens (capt), Dan Cole, Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes, James Haskell, Justin Tipuric, CJ Stander
Replacements: Rory Best, Joe Marler, Kyle Sinckler, Iain Henderson, Peter O’Mahony, Greig Laidlaw, Johnny Sexton, Liam Williams
Blues: Michael Collins; Matt Duffie, George Moala, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane; Stephen Perofeta, Augustine Pulu; Ofa Tu’ungafasi, James Parsons (capt), Charlie Faumuina, Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, Scott Scrafton, Akira Ioane, Blake Gibson, Steve Luatua
Replacements: Hame Faiva, Alex Hodgman, Sione Mafileo, Patrick Tuipulotu, Kara Pryor, Sam Nock, Ihaia West, TJ Faiane
Lions v Auckland – P 15 W8 D 1 L 6
1888: W 6-3, L 0-4, W 3-0, D 1-1
1904: L 0-13
1908: L 0-11
1930: L 6-19
1950: W 32-9
1959: W 15-10
1966: W 12-6
1971: W 19-12
1977: W 34-15
1983: L 12-13
1993: L 18-23
2005: W 17-13
