Lions stumble against Pumas in opening tour clash
THE British and Irish Lions began their tour with a 28-24 defeat to Argentina on Friday.
This marks their first opening loss on a tour since 1971.
Despite the close scoreline, there is some concern for head coach Andy Farrell as his side prepares for their next fixture against Western Force in Australia this week.
While the Lions featured many world-class players, there was a clear lack of cohesion.
Writing on social media, one attendee described the Lions as 'disjointed'.
Despite flashes of attacking promise, their execution often let them down.
The Lions won just 14 of 18 throws, with turnovers hampering their ability to maintain pressure.
Captain Maro Itoje admitted the team were still 'finding our rhythm', while emphasising that time and familiarity will improve their cohesion.
However, the scrum showed promise.
Props Ellis Genge and Finlay Bealham earned praise for a strong showing, claiming several penalties and giving Farrell something positive to build on.
Bealham, a late addition to the squad due to injury, made a particularly good case for his continued involvement.
Defensively, the Lions were exposed, especially under the high ball and in back-three coverage.
The Pumas were more aggressive in contesting loose balls, with Farrell visibly frustrated by his team's failure to win key scraps on the ground: "There's a bit of fight and hunger from them that we can't accept," he said post-match.
Some players, such as Tommy Freeman, enhanced their Test credentials, but the loss also raised the stock of those not involved.
The absence of players tied up in the United Rugby Championship and Premiership finals - as well as Toulouse's Blair Kinghorn - was clear, giving Farrell a chance to refresh the lineup for their next outing.
Despite the defeat, the occasion itself was 'stunning', according to another fan.
A crowd of over 50,000 at the Aviva Stadium, many in red, created a striking atmosphere reminiscent of classic Lions tours.
For players like Bundee Aki, who experienced the COVID-restricted 2021 tour of South Africa, the fan presence was very moving: 'I got goosebumps when I saw the sea of red,' he said after the match.
Ultimately, the results were less important than the lessons learnt.
Their next match is this Saturday, June 28.
See More: Andy Farrell, British And Irish Lions, Rugby, Sport
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This kind of frustrating handling error prevented Farrell's men from opening up time after time against Argentina. The Lions repeatedly forced offloads and passes to let the Pumas off the hook. Tuipulotu breaks into the Argentinian 22 below but offloads into Pumas' hands. In the instance below, it's Cowan-Dickie who finds a Puma with his offload in the Argentinian 22. There were many other similar examples and the Lions were livid with themselves for this sloppiness. Farrell wants his side to attack with intent, but he's not someone who encourages offloading at will. 'Andy's been hot on, 'You've got to see your pass and know someone is there,'' said Curry post-match on Friday. Having carried out their review of the game, the Lions will surely feel that they had more than enough opportunities to break the Pumas only for their handling and decision-making to let them down at the key moment. There may have been an element of overeagerness to impress in those errors, as would be understandable on opening night for the 2025 Lions. However, Farrell's scathing criticism of his team underlined that he expects much better. He must have enjoyed the scoring passages from his team, with Aki putting the finishing touch to the Lions' first after some slick handling. Cowan-Dickie sweeps the ball back from the 3-pod to Marcus Smith, who does an excellent job of holding his feet as the ball comes to him. Indeed, Smith almost backs off in the face of the blitz from Pumas number Joaquín Oviedo, buying himself time to flick the ball on to Tuipulotu. As Smith is doing so, Beirne's running line is important. Beirne is an option for the short front-door pass from Smith and that lures Pumas centre Piccardo in onto Beirne initially. That in turn means Tuipulotu can get outside Piccardo, drawing Cinti infield before the Lions centre pops a basketball-style pass over Cinti's head to Fin Smith. Related Reads Lions remind Australia that they must release Wallabies stars for warm-up fixtures 'We need to be better' - The Lions land in Australia eager to get rolling Smith then does something similar to get the ball away over Mendy's head. Aki has to turn to gather Smith's pass and considers passing to Freeman in clear space, but with Piccardo working across, instead backs himself to finish. For many players, passing would have been the right decision, but Aki has the power to make his decision right. Farrell and his coaches probably enjoyed the more direct edge to their team's third try, which came soon after their powerful maul earned a penalty try. The Lions struck for their third from a right-hand-side lineout close to the halfway line, with Earl carrying well before they bounced back against the grain in an 11 pattern. Replacement scrum-half Tomos Williams skips the ball across the face of Itoje to find Genge thundering forward on a line back against the grain. 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Their 1-3-2-1-1 framework allows them to shift the ball into the wide channels, but the Lions coaches will be stressing the need to be direct and physically confrontational too. And even with directness in tighter parts of the field, clever passes and lines like the ones above can cause havoc. In the instance below, the Lions do damage in the shortside as Freeman runs a smart line off Williams coming back against the grain. Exploring the shortside is another hallmark of Farrell's Ireland side, with Jamison Gibson-Park hugely influential in that regard, and the Lions probably didn't look there enough against Argentina. However, Freeman picks out a blind spot on the outside of Matías Moroni here to make a break. Below, we see something extremely similar from replacement flanker Pollock. Again, the Lions have just made a carry infield when they bounce back into the shortside and Williams hits Pollock on that hard line into the blind spot outside a defender looking in at the ball. It takes bravery to run these lines. If the defence get a good early read, then the likes of Beirne, Freeman, and Pollock could be dealing with very sore ribs. These lines were evidently a strategy from the Lions and something worth keeping an eye on. Farrell's men had plenty of possession in their opening game, giving us lots of chances to see their attack. That said, they probably need to have greater balance to their approach in the future, combining more kicking with their intent to play with ball in hand. Then when they do attack with ball in hand, not throwing it away blindly should go a long way towards making the Lions a better team.
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Ex-World's Strongest Man Eddie Hall shares incredible throwback aged 13 as fans refuse to believe he's a child in pic
EDDIE HALL has left fans stunned with an incredible throwback picture. The former World's Strongest Man looked unrecognisable in old photos he has dug up and posted on social media. 4 Eddie Hall claims he is aged 13 in this throwback snap 4 Hall posted the old photos on Facebook 4 Eddie Hall won the World's Strongest Man crown in 2017 Credit: Instagram @eddiehallwsm And the In old snaps posted on Facebook, he is stood topless with a chain around his neck, a pierced nipple and cream trousers on. Hall captioned the image: "13-years-old and on the doors." READ MORE IN SPORT And in another photo, he shows off his ripped physique alongside his brother and dad. The One said: "You must be kidding me." Another joked: "Thirteen years old grown man." Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK A third commented: "Thirteenth birthday bash at working men's club after 30 pints." Hall was a competitive swimmer who competed in the UK Nationals when he was a youngster - even setting a British record for his age group in the pool. Eddie Hall brutally wins MMA debut in 30 seconds as he crushes ex-strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski But at his peak, Hall won the prestigious World's Strongest Man competition in 2017 and set a world record by completing a 500kg deadlift. The legend has gone into fighting in recent years and scored a Hall 4 Hall won his first MMA bout earlier this year Credit: Instagram @ksw_mma
