'It's only match one' says Itoje after Lions mauled by Pumas
The Lions, who leave for a three-Test tour of Australia on Saturday, were outplayed in the first half and, after a second half resurgence, went down 28-24.
Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne both went over the Pumas line and the Lions were also awarded a penalty try but the visitors replied with three tries of their own including one for fly-half Tomas Albornoz who finished with 18 points.
It was the first opening tour match loss since 1971 but there was much to build on as the team sets off on Saturday for Australia.
Seventeen players were not considered by coach Andy Farrell because of their presence in domestic competitions last weekend or, in the case of Toulouse's Blair Kinghorn, this weekend.
"We weren't as consistent as we would have liked to be," Itoje told Sky Sports.
"We only showed glimmers of what we can do. 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."
The Lions, who come together every four years as a team drawn from the best players in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, chose to play Argentina, ranked fifth in the world rather than a scratch team like the Barbarians to give themselves a stern test ahead of Australia.
"Argentina showed us where we are lacking," said Itoje.
"I am happy we had a hard-fought game. We live and learn. This is only match one."
Farrell admitted that his side, who have only been together a short time, have much to do before their next game against Western force in Perth on June 28.
"You can't win a Test with that error rate," he said.
"We lost enough balls in that game for a full tour, throwing balls that weren't on.
"There was good and bad throughout. We were just a little bit off, I take responsibility for that.
"I hope we are better off for that. We will keep building for the Test matches."
Under pressure
The Lions, however, were under pressure from the start as the Pumas went on the attack from the kick-off, Albornoz stroking over a penalty in the fifth minute.
The Lions then had a try ruled out when Luke Cowan-Dickie spilled the ball forwards as he reached for the line but Fin Smith levelled with a penalty.
The Pumas hit back straight away as Ignacio Mendy stepped in off his wing, wrong-footed Duhan van der Merwe and slid through for the try.
The Lions had a second try, this time from Sione Tuipulotu, ruled out before his centre partner Bundee Aki barged through for their opener.
Albornoz knocked over two more penalties to make it 14-10 as the clock ticked towards the red.
The Lions had time to restart and had a chance to regain the lead before the half-time whistle as the Pumas coughed up possession.
The Pumas, though, quickly retrieved it, attacking down the right and opening the door for Albornoz to skitter through under the posts for their second try of the half. He added the conversion to take a 21-10 lead at the break.
The Lions began the second half strongly and picked up a penalty try when Puma prop Mayco Vivas came in from the side of a maul to prevent it going over the line, collecting a yellow card in the process.
Shortly after, the Lions were in front, a bullocking run by prop Ellis Genge producing chaos in the Argentine defence and allowing Irish lock Tadhg Beirne to crash over.
Just before the hour, the Pumas were back in front when Connacht's Santiago Cordero beat Marcus Smith in a sprint to the line for the try that sealed the game.
© 2025 AFP
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