Rugby: Argentina stun British & Irish Lions in Dublin
Photo:Argentina have stunned the British & Irish Lions 28-24 in Dublin.
The rare home fixture for the Lions ended with a desperate assault on the visitors' tryline, however it was not enough to deny a famous result for the Pumas.
While it should be noted that it was the Lions' first time playing together as the best of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, they were still heavily favoured against a Pumas team missing several key players involved in the French Top 14 playoffs.
The match started with a stunning three-and-a-half minute opening passage, that was halted a metre out from the Lions' line after some ambitious attack from the Pumas. Tomas Albornoz knocked over an easy penalty attempt after the Lions were caught offside, which was matched a few minutes later by a long range effort by Fin Smith.
It didn't take long for the Pumas to score the first try of the match, a sweeping move finished off by winger Ignacio Mendy. By that stage the Lions had two tries disallowed by the TMO, first when hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie lost the ball over the line and then when another knock on in the lead up spoiled Sione Tuipulotu diving over under the posts.
However, there was no denying Bundee Aki in front of his home crowd after 20 minutes, the big centre stepping and powering his way over to give the Lions their first lead of the game.
It was short-lived as the Pumas' then dominated the rest of the first half, Albornoz kicking another two penalties and then scoring a stunning try off a turnover from a Lions ruck in the Pumas' 22.
Down 21-10 at halftime, the Lions were staring down the barrel of a humiliation but got back into gear when the forwards rumbled to the Pumas' line straight off the restart. Referee James Doleman had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try after persistent infringement by the defenders.
The Lions then retook the lead thanks to another popular try to Irish lock Tadhg Beirne, but again that only lasted five minutes before the Pumas scored yet another incredible try. This time the ball was regathered off a bomb on halfway, then quick hands saw it toed ahead for Santiago Cordero to sprint after and beat the cover defence to dive on and score in the corner.
Albornoz crucially converted to give the Pumas a four-point lead, which left it up to the Lions to score a try to win the game. Despite some adventurous play from the Lions, they simply couldn't crack a determined Pumas defence, led by an outstanding effort once again by loose forward Pablo Matera.
He was backed up well with a monster game by number eight Joaquin Oviedo, while the inside back combination of Gonzalo Garcia and Albernoz was highly effective. It will also be a very satisfying feeling for coach Felipe Contepomi, who guided the side to victories over the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies last season.
This is the second time the Pumas have muddied the waters. In 2005 they managed a 25-all draw before Sir Clive Woodward's Lions embarked on an ultimately disastrous tour of New Zealand. They play the first fixture of their nine-match tour of Australia in Perth against the Western Force on 28 June.
Read how the game unfolded below.
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