The Lions' ambitious attack dissected and who will benefit the most

Telegraph

5 hours ago

The most stinging criticism of the British and Irish Lions' display on Friday evening came from their own players and head coach. Indeed, such was the reluctance to acknowledge any positives that it felt as though Andy Farrell was attempting to seize control of the pervading narrative.
Over the 80 minutes that preceded some downbeat post-match interviews, there were clear indications of what the Lions will stand for as a team. And, in a first hit-out against stronger opponents than they usually face at the start of a tour, that much was encouraging.
Since ascending from the guise of charismatic defence guru, Farrell's identity as a head coach has been founded in slick, intricate attack. He essentially took Joe Schmidt's Ireland and gave them more dimensions, making them more intuitive and less predictable.
He has picked a strong stable of Ireland regulars on this Lions trip, which will allow him to implement similar principles. That these principles were evident from the off against Argentina, without the Leinster contingent, was impressive. Here are five pillars to watch out for as Farrell's side gels.
Four-man pods
Remember the Dan Sheehan try that killed England off at the beginning of February? It began from a four-man pod that saw the Ireland hooker's tip-pass send Jack Conan through the middle:
Game, set and match 🍀
Once again, Ireland rip through England's defence as Dan Sheehan rounds off a lovely team try to seal the win 😤 #GuinnessM6N | #IRevENG pic.twitter.com/chrtY9NPcS
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) February 1, 2025
The Lions assembled these four-man pods twice on Friday, each time from goal-line drop-outs struck by Argentina. Ben Earl carried into contact both times. A slow ruck on the first occasion gives the Lions scope to adopt their structure.
Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Bundee Aki and Tom Curry are up flat with Fin Smith hanging deeper. In a second layer, Jac Morgan is preparing to cut a shorter angle with Marcus Smith set to fade away towards the far touchline:
Watch how the phase plays out, with Sione Tuipulotu getting a run out wide:
In the second period, a quicker breakdown from Earl's dart means the set-up is not quite as precise. However, the same people are adopting the same roles:
Another long pass from Alex Mitchell finds Aki, who throws a short pass rather than a pull-back – the option Sheehan and Conan sliced England with four months previously. Had Curry kept control of the ball, the Pumas would have been broken:
This tactic, which is becoming more common around the world, requires scrum-halves to fire long passes, which Jamison Gibson-Park does superbly.
The four-man pod itself suits anyone with poise on the gain-line. Bristol Bears, for instance, often have Joe Batley as the first-receiver, standing three out. Aki and Tuipulotu suit that slot as well.
Earl would probably enjoy being the fourth flat runner and Finn Russell will relish sweeping behind that structure.
Roaming wings
This next clip follows the first four-man pod that the Lions ran. Watch Tommy Freeman. He begins right next to the ruck as Tuipulotu is tackled…
…and arcs all the way behind his colleagues towards the far flank. Note that there is a three-man pod fronted by Beirne, and Aki is organising a second layer:
Freeman reaches the outside centre on the Lions left, receiving an offload from Luke Cowan-Dickie and exchanging passes with Duhan van der Merwe to breach the Pumas 22:
Mack Hansen has been a flagship inclusion in Farrell's Ireland line-up and needs no second invitation to leave his wing. Take this scrum strike play in the second half. He begins behind Fin Smith…
…and sets off. He is aiming to arrive on the right shoulder of his fly-half, who is himself swinging behind the slice pattern of Tuipulotu and Elliot Daly:
Hansen gets on the ball and buys the Lions a penalty – his dummy causing an early tackle on Marcus Smith. A determined run finishes up about 15 metres out...
...and Hansen is not done there. He returns to his feet and works towards the left again…
…even carrying from first-receiver before play is brought back for a penalty. Note that Curry has filled in on the left flank in Hansen's absence:
Freeman, Hansen and James Lowe are ideal men for this approach. Daly roams readily as well, and do not be surprised if Garry Ringrose is used as a stand-in. Blair Kinghorn has been on the wing for Toulouse as well, and would hunt touches.
Collective awareness is vital here, because other attackers must help to fill the field when a wing goes walk-about.
Edge forwards
Farrell gave his back row licence to hold width. Jac Morgan was the target for a Fin Smith kick-pass and Earl migrated to the wide channels to receive this long cut-out pass from Freeman:
Henry Pollock's first moments in a Lions shirt saw him attend this breakdown…
…before backing away to the near touchline:
A few phases later, with the Lions having earned impetus and the Pumas defence rather narrow, the 20-year-old is calling for the ball:
As it happens, Tuipulotu delays slightly and Aki trucks up instead:
However, we can expect back-rowers to finish off a few tries in Australia. Sheehan, the explosive hooker, rampages out wide as well.
Two layers (at least)
Ireland's attack over recent seasons has been characterised by a fleet of runners in a sophisticated structure that allows them to play either through or around defences depending on which pass is picked. Johnny Sexton's presence on Farrell's staff this tour suggests that the Lions will aim to operate in a similar manner.
Even from strike plays, the domain of Kiwi coach Andrew Goodman, there always appear to be two layers. Here, from the first scrum of the game, Fin Smith takes the ball flat with Aki on his left and Freeman tearing off his wing behind that. Watch Tuipulotu:
On review, Freeman might feel as though he could have lifted another pass to launch Tuipulotu:
Here, off the back of a line-out, the second layer is where the Lions pose problems. Mitchell feeds Aki, who has Freeman on his inside and Fin Smith deeper. Track Tuipulotu again:
Mitchell receives a return pass in a loop play and is just caught in possession before he can feed Tuipulotu:
In phase-play, the Lions also looked to establish two layers. Here, you can see Beirne organising Curry into a second wave (rectangles) beyond the three-man pod of Bealham, Earl and Maro Itoje (circles). This is known as a 3-2 formation and will be a prominent feature of the Lions' time in possession:
Curry and Beirne are options for Aki, the playmaker out the back of the three-man pod, but the ball goes beyond them as the Lions open the pitch up:
Farrell will demand that tight-five forwards take responsibility for these pods, with backline playmakers organising as they scan the defence. The Lions put a great deal of width on the ball against Argentina, but will want to pose direct threats as well.
Scott Cummings, like Beirne, is a skilful link man and Ollie Chessum's attacking output will be very interesting. The latter is versatile enough to be used all over the pitch, as part of tighter pods and in the wider channels.
Bouncing against the grain
During the second half, when Tomos Williams and Hansen arrived off the bench, the Lions began to zig-zag within the 15-metre channels and make use of short sides. This tends to mitigate aggressive defences because it reduces the opportunities to rush up and envelope sweeping attacks.
Beirne's try arrived from a reasonably simple '11 play', a name of a move that sees a team move one phase before immediately going back in the opposite direction.
Earl is the initial carrier from the line-out after Fin Smith finds Aki behind the run of Pollock. Follow Itoje, Ellis Genge and Beirne:
They arrive on the right of the next breakdown and Williams spins to face three willing runners:
Watch the rest of the attack develop, with Genge injecting impetus. Beirne is back in the same flat position to score:
Tadhg Beirne 🙌🦁 #Lions2025 https://t.co/oCbiXaBa0X pic.twitter.com/HHMB32gR2p
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 20, 2025
Genge, used to Pat Lam's phase maps at Bristol, will be an asset to the Lions. Pierre Schoeman and Andrew Porter will be used in a similar way, while Will Stuart should have scope to carry as well.
Pace and mobility have been prioritised over heft across the back five of the pack, with Conan the closest thing to a hole-punching back-rower. Joe McCarthy, however, can be a bruising runner.
Things should improve with the integration of Leinster players from this weekend against Western Force, given the parallels between Ireland's traits and how Farrell has obviously set up the Lions to attack.
Perhaps a more pertinent question, which has been in the air since Farrell was appointed as Lions boss, is which individuals can adapt to the requirements of his approach and even enhance the overall picture.
Notwithstanding over-eagerness with the ball – as well as line-out problems and organisational lapses in defence – the encouraging thing is that there is clarity and ambition about how the Lions will approach this tour and work towards the Test against Australia. Often, that is half the battle.