Tom Boon hat-trick condemns Ireland to defeat in Belgium

It's the first of six FIH Pro League games the Green Machine will play in Belgium this week, as Mark Tumilty's team bring the curtain down on their second campaign in international hockey's elite league.
Boon, the Pro League's top scorer, broke the deadlock with a fine volley in the first quarter.
Thibeau Stockbroekx added a second in the next quarter, reacting quickest after a save from Jaime Carr to find the back of the net.
A penalty corner late in the first half resulted in a third for Belgium, Boon getting his second of the match and sixteenth of the competition.
An ideal start to the second half for Ireland saw them find the back of the net, when Banbridge's Louis Rowe reacted quickest to lift the ball over Loic Van Doren in net.
Boon saw his penalty stroke saved by Carr. A fourth, though did eventually come for Belgium, with Roman Duvekot finishing off a slick attacking move to restore the three-goal lead in the closing stages of the third quarter.
Boon finally completed his hat-trick in the 50th minute, condemning Ireland to their 10th Pro League loss in 11 games.
Ireland will play Belgium on Sunday with pushback at 2.30pm.

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Daily Mail​

31 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

British and Irish Lions winners and losers after Andy Farrell's side fall to 28-24 defeat by Argentina - including one forward who had an outstanding display

After months of anticipation, the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour got off to a false start as Andy Farrell's side were beaten 28-24 by Argentina in Dublin. MailSport's Alex Bywater was at the Aviva Stadium to look at the players who stood out for head coach Farrell and who struggled to get going… Ellis Genge (prop) Genge really put down a marker. He anchored a Lions scrum that had dominance over the Argentinians – no mean feat given the Pumas pride themselves on their work in that area – and was also a marauding threat in the loose. Genge had a great carry in the build-up to Tadhg Beirne's second-half try. He looks like a man set for a big tour. Fin Smith (fly-half) Emulated his grandfather Tom Elliot by becoming a Lion and manipulated the Argentina defence well, creating one-on-one opportunities for his dangerous outside backs. A first look at the 2025 Lions suggested they will play with an Ireland-style pod system in attack. Smith had plenty of forward options to use on short lines, but also out wide. It was noticeable how the Lions backs were always attached to each pod. While Farrell's men were understandably far from perfect, Smith can be pleased with his outing. Tommy Freeman (wing) Scored in every round of the Six Nations for England and was a lively operator here, always looking for work. Farrell wants his wingers heavily involved all over the field and that suits Freeman down to the ground. Quick and powerful in the carry. Will be a key man Down Under. Sione Tuipulotu (centre) Hasn't played much this season and unfortunately, there was a degree of rust to his performance. Dropped one ball from Freeman. It would be harsh to blame a team's defensive struggles on one player alone, but the Lions were breached too often in his 13 channel. Probably better off at inside centre. Will definitely improve on this the more he plays. Luke Cowan-Dickie (hooker) Not a great birthday for the Sale hooker. Had an early try ruled out and struggled at line-out time. Too many of the Lions' throws went awry, with a couple overthrown. Cowan-Dickie did play a part in the strong Lions scrum but he was replaced early in the second half. Line-out didn't improve with Ronan Kelleher on in his place. British & Irish Lions: M Smith 5; Freeman 7.5, Tuipulotu 4, Aki 6 (Daly 60), Van der Merwe 6 (Hansen 60); F Smith 7, Mitchell 5.5 (Williams 50,7); Genge 8 (Schoeman 60), Cowan-Dickie 4 (Kelleher 50), Bealham 7.5 (Furlong 60) (Bealham 80+1,7.5), Itoje (capt) 6.5 (Cummings 72,5), Beirne 7, Curry 6.5, Morgan 6 (Pollock 50), Earl 4

The Independent

an hour ago

• The Independent

Andy Farrell admits Lions ‘have to be better' after Argentina defeat

An honest Andy Farrell admitted that the British and Irish Lions 'have to be better' after his side suffered a 28-24 defeat to Argentina in their tour curtain-raiser in Dublin. The Lions were beaten at the Aviva Stadium after producing a perhaps predictably scratchy and sloppy performance, with a number of errors undermining some bright bits of attacking play. Such showings are commonplace in the opening match of the itinerary for the quadrennial tourists given the challenges they face bringing the group together, though Farrell sought not to sugar-coat the performance as the Lions prepare to head to Australia this weekend. 'We made it a tough game,' Farrell said. 'Obviously the first, and appropriate, thing to say is congratulations to Argentina, they capitalised very well on the back of quite a few errors from us. 'The whole story of the game is that we compounded too many errors and weren't able to put the pace on the game that we wanted to because of that. I wouldn't give the excuse [of a lack of time together]. We need to be better than that. The Lions players are good players coming together. Of course, we ask a lot of them. It certainly looked like we were a little bit disconnected at times. We will review and get something positive from that. It is all about how we move forward. 'We need to be honest, because if we are not honest with each other, how do we gain trust? We have to say it how it is. Losing hurts, especially in this jersey. We need to find solutions pretty quickly and be honest with ourselves because some good has to come from this.' The Lions will fly to Perth on Saturday and face the Western Force in the city with an eight-day turnaround between their first and second games. The schedule thereafter is hectic, with four more matches before the first Test against the Wallabies on 19 July. Farrell will be boosted by the full availability of his contingent from Leinster, Bath and Leicester after they were largely stood down from this game having been involved in domestic finals last weekend. Toulouse's progress to the Top 14 final, however, means that Blair Kinghorn will not join up with the squad until after their game in Perth. Fellow Scot Duhan van der Merwe was seen with ice around his lower leg and foot after being replaced in Dublin, but Farrell was hopeful of a clean bill of health. He said: 'A few players were cramping, which shows where we are at, but other than that, it looks all good.'

Times

an hour ago

• Times

Andy Farrell: It's unacceptable. We were tentative and made too many errors

Read Alex Lowe's full report from the Aviva Stadium in Dublin as the Lions fell to defeat in their first game of the summer. The Lions head coach, speaking to Sky Sports, congratulated Argentina on their performance against his side, but said there was a lot for the Lions to work on: 'You can't win a Test match with an error rate like that. 'Throwing passes that were never on, losing aerial battles, it's not acceptable. Disappointed. We need to be honest with ourselves.' 'There was good and bad throughout. I won't single out individuals, but we were a bit tentative. 'The start of the second half was more like it, but we suppressed ourselves with that error count.' The head coach gave nothing away regarding any replacements in the touring party. Bundee Aki, who got the Lions going with his bulldozing try in the first half, told Sky Sports: 'This shows where we are as a group, we know the challenge ahead of us, and we have to keep building on today. 'The more and more we train together as a group, the better we will be, but we have to learn quick.' Julian Montoya, speaking to Sky Sports, praised his team's effort across the whole 80 minutes. 'We were sure we wanted to give our best and take our opportunities, which we did. 'We want to enjoy the win with the team and with the boys who played their first game.' The captain has provided a frank assessment of the game to Sky Sports, lamenting his team's inconsistency. 'When we were direct, we were awesome,' he says. 'There were glimmers of what we could do. 'Argentina showed us where we were lacking, it was a hard-fought game. Now we know where we are. The lesson is that we live and we learn.' He pays tribute to the fans who were in full voice in Dublin, and expects plenty of the same out in Australia. The Argentina fly half was outstanding, scoring his side's second try, landing two conversions and three penalties, and is rightly given the award. What a performance from the visitors. A huge effort against the Lions gives them a 28-24 victory in Dublin. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. The Lions have a penalty for head-on-head contact on halfway, still trailing by four points. Fin Smith goes for the touchline, and it falls just inside the Argentina 22. Last chance… The vice-captain has given away a crucial penalty at a crucial time, and the Lions must retreat a long way having been within spitting distance of the Argentina line. Could that be the game? A silly penalty is given away by Montoya, who boots the ball out of Williams's hands. The Lions go for the corner. It's a capacity crowd in Dublin, which will be welcome news to organisers after fears that tonight's fixture was undersold. Meanwhile, the Lions have made a couple more changes, and are probing away in the Argentina half. That's an absolutely astonishing try. Albornoz sends Tom Curry for a kipper, goes outside and overpowers Pollock on the way. The ball goes through the hands one way then the other, before Moroni sends a kick in behind for Cordero to chase. He outstrips Marcus Smith, no mean feat, and goes over in the corner. The kick is good from Albornoz, and Argentina are back in the lead. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Tadhg Beirne picks a wonderful line for a flat pass from Tomos Williams and goes over uncontested to give the Lions the lead. But it's all about the initial break from Ellis Genge — the Bristol man lives up to his Baby Rhino nickname, making several metres before the Lions went wide. Another excellent scrum for the Lions brings a penalty, which Fin Smith hoofs downfield. There's a huge cheer as Ronan Kelleher, Tomos Williams and Henry Pollock, the youngest player on tour, make their way onto the field. The 20-year-old is familiar to the locals here after his fantastic performance in the Champions Cup semi-final victory over Leinster. That's a big moment in the game. the Lions rolling maul gets towards the line, collapses under Argentinian pressure, and the referee makes his way under the posts. The loose-head Vivas is sent to the bin and the deficit is reduced to four points. The home side have put some good phases together, and it ends with a penalty. Itoje orders Fin Smith to the corner for the lineout. Fin Smith gets the second half going. The Lions have a chance now to make sure they get on the plane to Australia tomorrow with a solid performance under their belts. A breathless first half comes to an end with Argentina leading 21-10. The visitors have looked very slick, and have made the most of half-chances presented to them by the Lions, particularly late on. They scored ten points in the final 60 seconds there. The Lions have certainly showed flashes in attack, and you'd think they wouldn't be too disheartened by the half-time score, but there's certainly work to be done. A huge moment in the game. Albornoz makes the most of a turnover inside the Argentina 22. Carreras draws Marcus Smith in before passing to the onrushing fly half on the touchline, who goes under the posts and into the arms of his team-mates. The visitors lead 21-10. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Albornoz slots the simplest of penalties in front of the posts to make it 14-10, after a fair bit of pressure on the Lions line. The full back goes scampering after a kick and does well to collect it, but is under immediate pressure from the pursuing Argentinians. He grounds it for a five-metre scrum. Tom Curry is penalised for holding on at a ruck, and the Argentina fly half gratefully slots the three points. 11-10 to the visitors. That's why Aki is in the team. He receives the ball about ten metres out, makes to fling one out to the wing, checks inside and accelerates through three burly Argentinians to score the first Lions try of the summer. The conversion from Smith is good. Lions lead 10-8. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Argentina take the lead after some gorgeous footwork from Ignacio Mendy on the left wing. A nice missed pass finds Santiago Carreras, whose dummy draws in Marcus Smith. He flings it to Mendy who waltzes round the attempted tackle by Fin Smith for the game's first try. The conversion is missed, so it stays 8-3 to the visitors. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Fin Smith has a penalty from the ten-metre line, just to the right of the posts. It's a flush connection and sails through. Up go the flags and it's 3-3. A frantic start in Dublin. Argentina make significant ground after a bit of kick tennis, and win a penalty on the Lions five-metre line, which is duly knocked over for three. And we are under way. As the red smoke drifts away into the sunny Dublin sky, James Doleman's whistle calls a start to the Lions' summer. The Lions' assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth has accused the Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt of trying to distract touring side with jibe about nationality switches of Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu, which the New Zealander called the 'southern hemisphere partnership'. The pair start for Andy Farrell's side tonight. Click here for more from Will Kelleher. The Edinburgh prop and walking anecdote machine qualifies to play for Scotland on residency grounds, but also has a family connection to the country. His great-grandfather's great-grandfather was a postman from Peebles, a town in the Scottish borders. Read Will Kelleher's rip-roaring interview with the loose-head, who starts on the bench for the Lions tonight. Fans are descending on the stadium in preparation for kick-off in about 30 minutes time, with a good few Argentina fans in the mix amongst all the red. Let's leave Dublin for a moment, and consider the state of play in Australia, where rugby union is competing with the hugely popular rugby league and Aussie rules for the nation's attention. Stuart Barnes believes a humiliating series defeat for Joe Schmidt's side could be the final nail in the coffin for the sport in the country. Despite a torrid time for the Welsh national team, the 25-year-old flanker has been a bright spark amid the despair, and starts for the Lions tonight. Read Steve James's piece on why the Wales captain deserves a spot in an incredibly competitive back-row set up. Fin Smith starts at fly half tonight, and his mum Judith will be in a unique position as she arrives at the Aviva Stadium, as her father, Tom Elliot, also played for the Lions. A connection between a grandfather and grandson has never happened in the 137 years of Lions tours. Read Alex Lowe's full exclusive interview with the 23-year-old, who fits surprisingly well into his grandad's Lions blazer. Maro Itoje and Tadhg Beirne start together tonight, with the pair striking up a bromance during the Lions training camp in Portugal this month. The Irishman Beirne reckons he is smarter, but slower, than his room-mate, but the two have a lot in common. Read Peter O'Reilly's full piece on the pair here. Andy Farrell has named his first squad of the summer, but who would make it into your starting team? Use our interactive selector tool to see how your picks compare with our writers'. History suggests that five players from the first Lions match will be in the squad for the first Test of the tour, which falls on Saturday, July 19 in Brisbane. In his analysis piece from this week, Will Kelleher looks at why tonight's game in 'Costa del Dublin' will shape Andy Farrell's thinking for the headline fixtures. Despite the vast majority being seasoned Test players for their countries, this summer's squad are pretty inexperienced when it comes to Lions rugby. Click here for a reminder of the full squad for the tour to Australia. Hello, bore da, dia duit and g'day! Welcome to the Times' live coverage of the first British and Irish Lions game of the summer. Argentina are the opponents in a sunny Dublin as Andy Farrell's side look to hit the ground running before leaving for their six-week tour of Australia. We'll be bringing you build-up before kick-off at 8pm and live updates from the Aviva Stadium throughout the game. A quick reminder of the XVs for tonight's match… Nine Englishmen, three Irishmen, two Scots and a Welshman make Andy Farrell's first squad as Lions coach. The visitors meanwhile, who are ranked fifth in the world, above all the home nations save Ireland, field a slightly weakened side, with several of their France-based players missing due to club commitments with the likes of Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles, who are involved in the Top 14 play-offs. Full teams below.