British & Irish Lions performance 'not acceptable' in defeat to Argentina ahead of Australia tour, says coach Andy Farrell
ByTNT UK
Updated 21/06/2025 at 08:11 GMT+1
The first match of the summer for the British & Irish Lions did not go to plan, with Argentina the shock winners in Dublin. It was the Lions' first tour opener defeat since 1971. Both head coach Andy Farrell and captain Maro Itoje bemoaned an inconsistent performance and called for improvement ahead of the Lions' trip to Perth to play Western Force.
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Argentina completed a memorable victory over the British & Irish Lions, as Andy Farrell’s side started their 2025 summer with a 28-24 defeat.
Los Pumas scored two fantastic tries in the first half to lead 21-10 at the break and, despite a fightback from the Lions at the start of the second half, managed to secure the victory thanks to Santiago Cordero's try.
The Lions now head to Perth as they continue preparations for their first Test against Australia on July 19.
"As far as we are concerned, there is obviously a lot to do. You can’t win a Test match with an error rate like that," head coach Andy Farrell told Sky Sports. "Throwing passes that were never on, losing aerial battles, it’s not acceptable. Disappointed.
"There was good and bad throughout, I wouldn’t single out individuals or combinations. I thought we were just a little bit tentative, just a little bit off.
"I take responsibility for that. When we came out with a bit of fight at the start of that second half it was more like it, but we just suppressed ourselves with the error count and that carried on late. Again, you don’t win a Test match when that type of thing happens."
Captain Maro Itoje echoed Farrell's sentiments.
"We weren't as consistent as we would have liked to be. We only showed glimmers of what we can do," Itoje said.
"When we were on it, we looked good, we just need to do it more consistently. We want to be more aggressive but we are building. It wasn't quite that. We will live, learn and get better.
"Argentina showed us where we are lacking. I am happy we had a hard-fought game. We live and learn. This is only match one.
"The fans were amazing and showed us a glimmer of what it will be like in Australia."
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Bundee Aki felt there were positives to take from the defeat in Dublin.
"We have plenty of games ahead of us that will be tough, so we need to take the learnings from tonight," he told Sky Sports.
"I thought our cohesiveness was good in different parts of the game and that we put a few phases together.
"The more we train together, the better we will get, but we have to learn quickly, but we will make sure we do that.
"We are going to enjoy our time tonight with our friends and family before we go away for a long time, but we will quickly look ahead to next Saturday.
"We have nine games to go, we will learn quickly and bounce back. I know the Lions supporters will be behind us, and we will give them something to shout about."
The Lions will now head to Australia and face Western Force in Perth on June 28.
The opening Test of the series with Australia takes place in Brisbane on July 19.
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