Andy Farrell says Lions ‘won't sugar-coat' defeat to Argentina
The Lions lost their opening tour match for the first time since 1971 after their second-half fightback was overturned when Santiago Cordero finished the match-winning try in the 59th minute.
On Saturday they head Down Under before facing the Western Force a week later and Farrell is seeking an immediate response to the error-strewn display seen at a sold-out Aviva Stadium.
Not the result we wanted, but a historic night in Dublin.
Thank you to the incredible fans who came to see us tonight, and to all of you who tuned in to support us from around the world 🙏🦁#Lions2025 pic.twitter.com/GcPTA1Pwnp
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 20, 2025
'We made it a tough game. Congratulations to Argentina, they thoroughly deserved to win the match. I'm sure that's a big moment in Argentinean rugby history,' Farrell said.
'We had plenty of opportunities and we should have done better to convert them, but the whole story of the game is that we compounded too many errors.
'I wouldn't give familiarity as an excuse. We need to be better than that. The Lions are good players coming together.
'We won't sugar-coat this. We need to be honest because if we're not honest, how do we gain trust with each other?
'Losing hurts, especially in this jersey. We need to find the solutions pretty quickly and be honest with ourselves because some good has to come from this.
'Of course we asked a lot of the players and maybe we put too much pressure on the side because it looked like we were a little disconnected at times.
'We'll review what we said we were going to do as a team. We need to make sure we get something positive from this because it's all about how we move forward.
'Some players will be happy and some players won't and will be dying to get another chance out there. We've got to learn a lot of lessons from that.
'We want to see a better all round performance. There wasn't just one thing, it was the compounding of quite a few bits.
'The amount of balls that we threw blindly either on to the floor or to the opposition was a standout.
'The scraps on the floor always seemed to go to Argentina, so there was a bit more fight and hunger from them that we can't accept.'
Maro Itoje criticised the Lions' accuracy as his first outing as captain ended in the tourists' first defeat to Argentina in eight matches..
'It was a spectacular occasion. The fans gave us a glimpse of what to expect in Australia,' Itoje said.
'We gave ourselves numerous opportunities but we weren't accurate enough at times and weren't consistent enough in piling pressure on to Argentina.'
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Five talking points from the Lions' loss to Argentina
Prior to losing 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin on Friday night, no British and Irish Lions had lost their opening tour game since though, will have faced opposition as strong and as on song as the Pumas. Despite quickly giving all credit to the victors in the immediate aftermath, head coach Andy Farrell's attention will quickly turn to what needs to improve before his side's first game on Australian soil against Western Force on 28 June. Scratch side still building connections There was no competition for word of the day at the Lions media briefing on Wednesday - "cohesion" was clearly the focus. Given how clunky these affairs have been in the recent past, and that this represented a first hit for what is a brand new side, it was fair to assume clicking quickly would be a challenge. Two-time Lion Tadhg Beirne, for one, seemed a bit perplexed by such a notion however, reminding that we were talking about "world class" players. 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How to watch England v France for free today with game not on TV
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Leader Live
an hour ago
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Lions suffer first ever defeat by Argentina in setback before Australia tour
Trailing 21-10 at the interval, Andy Farrell's men went on to produce their most effective rugby but they could not break stubborn opponents ranked fifth in the world in front of a sold-out Aviva Stadium. A penalty try and Tadhg Beirne touchdown created a path to victory but Argentina's ruthless counter-attacking swept Santiago Cordero in for the match-winning in the 59th minute. EPIC 📸🔴🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 20, 2025 It is the Pumas' only success in the rivals' eight meetings and the first time the Lions have lost their tour opener since 1971. The Lions showed a willingness to attack in a promising sign ahead of their arrival Down Under, but their accuracy failed to match their ambition and they were often guilty of overplaying. Fin Smith was among their standout players in a performance that suggests Finn Russell has serious competition for the fly-half duties against the Wallabies, while wing Tommy Freeman shone early on. The Lions' greatest weapon was their scrum with props Ellis Genge and Finlay Bealham submitting Argentina's front row, but their line-out needs urgent attention ahead of their clash with Western Force next Saturday. Any gripes that the Dublin sendoff was little more than a money spinner were quickly forgotten amid a exhilarating start that saw both lines come under pressure – and the tension never eased until the final whistle. Luke Cowan-Dickie appeared to have finished a rolling maul but the try was disallowed for a knock on by the England hooker and it was the Pumas who were first to strike. Duhan van der Merwe had made some storming early runs but he was among those at fault for an opening in the Lions' defence, enabling the dangerous Iganacio Mendy to dart over. Sione Tuipulotu was the next to be denied a try by a knock on, but there was no stopping a surging Bundee Aki in the 19th minute as Argentina became swamped by waves of red shirts running at the line. A Tomas Albornoz penalty propelled the Pumas back in front but the Lions were threatening to cut loose through their endeavour in attack. Marcus Smith was alert to a threatening Argentina grubber and there was more pressure to come with pick and goes testing their resolve before another three points from Albornoz extended the lead to 14-10. And there was worse to come for Farrell's men on the stroke of half-time when they failed to protect the ball at the back of a ruck and the Pumas pounced through Juan Martin Gonzalez with Albornoz completing a surgical finish. The Lions started the second-half with their tails up as Fin Smith continued to impress, but it was the pack who made their presence felt by mauling their way to a penalty try with Mayco Vivas also being sent to the sin bin. Tuipulotu helped set up the field position with a barnstorming run while Smith was beginning to find space. Genge stormed upfield as the Lions continued their transformation and now they had found the killer instinct with Beirne charging through a gap. But Farrell's team could not pull clear and when Van der Merwe's defensive shortcomings were exposed again, this time by a dropped high ball, Argentina pulled the trigger with Cordero rounding off a sublime counter attacking try. The Lions dominated the closing stages but could not find a way through.
