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Otago Daily Times

20 minutes ago

Sport
Otago Daily Times

Pumas snare first win over Lions

Argentina beat a stuttering British and Irish Lions for the first time on Friday with a 28-24 warm-up game victory at the Aviva Stadium that left coach Andy Farrell with plenty to do as his squad get ready to leave for Australia. While Farrell barely had enough bodies to make up a matchday squad after deciding to give the majority who played in English Premiership and URC finals last Saturday the evening off, he had hoped the others would grasp the opportunity. Few did and just as Argentina did when the sides' last met in a 25-25 draw before the 2005 tour, the Pumas had the Lions on the ropes early thanks to tries from Ignacio Mendy and Tomas Albornoz either side of a Bundee Aki effort that gave them a deserved 21-10 halftime lead. While the Lions were a different animal early in the second half and regained the lead after a penalty try and another home crowd score, this time for Tadhg Beirne, Santiago Cordero put Argentina back in front with another great team try and the error-strewn Lions could not reply again. "We talked in the week about this amazing opportunity, We wanted to come here and do a good job. It's amazing," player of the match Albornoz said in a pitchside interview. Argentina, who were also missing some key players still involved in the French Top 14 playoffs, showed they were here to play with a couple of early warning shots before a brilliant set piece try after the sides had traded early penalties. Quick ball and quick hands carved the Lions' defence open for fullback Santiago Carreras to throw a deft dummy and find Mendy, whose step inside left Duhan van der Merwe on his backside. The Lions also showed some early attacking intent and after two tries were chalked off for knock-ons either side of Mendy's effort, one of the few available Irishmen Aki brought a huge cheer from the sea of red by bulldozing over on 20 minutes. But it was very scrappy for Farrell's men after that, with the rust of their early days together showing up in yet more knock ons, a misfiring lineout and missing almost twice as many tackles as their opponents by halftime. After two more Albornoz penalties edged Argentina in front, the flyhalf benefited from some more untidy Lions play, this time deep in Puma territory, to dive under the posts and into a sea of nearby Argentine replacements right on halftime. "TEETHING ISSUES" The second half started off a lot looser and the Lions were much more awake to it. The game looked like it might swing just a few minutes in when their forward pressure forced the penalty try and a yellow card for Argentina prop Mayco Vivas. Another try looked inevitable before Vivas returned as the Lions began to empty what on paper was a far more loaded bench. Beirne obliged shortly after a huge carry from Ellis Genge. But the mistakes began to creep in again and multiply as Argentina showed all they needed was a sniff, breaking from their own half before replacement Matias Moroni kicked in behind for fellow sub Cordero to beat Marcus Smith to a footrace. Some Argentine players were in tears when the final whistle sounded as they secured their first win in eight attempts, six of which were in tours of South America almost a century ago. For the Lions they have five more games in Australia and plenty more time together to set things right before the first test against the Wallabies on July 19. "There's a few teething issues," said Lions captain Maro Itoje. "We're building a team. I think we showed glimmers of what we can do. We'll learn and we'll definitely get better."

Andy Farrell doesn't hold back with Lions player criticism after 'hurt' of loss

Irish Daily Mirror

25 minutes ago

Sport
Irish Daily Mirror

Andy Farrell doesn't hold back with Lions player criticism after 'hurt' of loss

Andy Farrell admitted his first loss at British and Irish Lions boss hit hard and said he would take responsibility for it. The Lions lost 28-24 to Argentina at the Aviva Stadium in the opening game of their 10-game campaign that will now take them to Australia, with the squad jetting off from Dublin Airport on Saturday morning. Farrell had demanded that his first matchday squad would hit the ground running but he spoke of a "clunky" attacking game and a litany of errors that proved costly. "Yeah, we made it a tough game, didn't we," he said. "Obviously the first and appropriate thing to say is congratulations to Argentina, they thoroughly deserved to win the Test match. "They capitalised very well on the back of quite a few errors from us. Congratulations to them. I'm sure that's a big moment in Argentinean history. "You can try and throw it all around and say we had plenty of opportunities and we should have done better to convert that, but the whole story of the game is that we compounded too many errors. In the end, we weren't able to put the pace on the game because of that. 'We're not sugar-coating anything because we need to be honest because if we're not honest how do we gain trust with each other. We have to say it as it is. There are certain things we said we were going to do and we need to own that and review that properly." He will also review his own performance, which he described as "obviously not good enough" for this game. "I always take full responsibility, that's my role," he said. "It doesn't matter what department or whatever, I'm in charge of the job lot so it obviously wasn't good enough and I need to be better." "There is a burden involved in playing for the Lions, given the history and tradition, but Farrell says that his players must quickly move on from that. It's something that goes through your mind but we've got to own that," he insisted. "We've got to take responsibility for that. 'We are the British and Irish Lions so we've got to own the right to take that jersey forward. It shouldn't be heavy. We've got brilliant players within our squad and they need to embrace that.' Farrell was asked to reflect on the two-week build-up to the historic Lions fixture, the first on Irish soil, now that the game was out of the way. The 51-year-old replied: 'I hate that, 'out of the way'. Honestly, losing hurts, especially in this jersey. So we need to find the solutions pretty quickly and be honest with ourselves. There has to be some good come from this. We need to do better than that. It is what it is. "The Lions players, good players coming together, of course we ask a lot of them, and maybe we put too much pressure on the side because it certainly looked like we were a little bit disconnected at times. "Look, we'll review what we said we were going to own, and then we need to make sure that we get something positive from that because it's all about how we move forward. "I think some players will have done themselves proud and they will be hurting for the team because they're all team players. Some people will be happy and some people won't and will be dying to get another chance out there. We know where we're at, we're underway, so we're going to have to learn a lot of lessons from that." Farrell was also asked if the build-up was very different to what he is used to as Ireland head coach, when his players come into camp before a Six Nations, Autumn series or World Cup. 'Look, it's obviously been very different, lads coming in, you don't quite know who's coming in and then people come in you deal with that and obviously the finalists coming in after that. "Effectively you've got two sets of players that are on completely different timescales but that's the nature of what's ahead of us as well. You've got to deal with the jetlag first and foremost but then the games come thick and fast. "It's never going to be what we're used to. I think the last couple of weeks sets us in good stead in terms of the rhythm, or the lack of it. One of the reasons I'm gutted is because there's 14 lads that are getting the cap, playing for the British and Irish Lions for the first time and there's disappointment there. But the experience will stand to them." The Western Force could well feel the brunt. A host of Leinster players are primed for their first outings in that game on Saturday next. Farrell is demanding "a better all-round performance", adding: "You can single out one thing but it's not just one thing, it's a compounding of quite a few bits. "The amount of balls that we threw blindly, either to the opposition or the floor, is probably a stand-out. If you combine that with the kicking game and the aerial battle and what is disappointing is scraps on the floor from that type of battle, it always seemed to go to Argentina so there's a bit of fight and hunger from them that we can't accept. 'Then you combine stuff at the breakdown, the lineout or whatever, and it's too much. It's too much when it all comes together, it's just compounded, and there's a reason why people do get cramp or look a bit tired or are not able to capitalise on opportunities you have created, because probably subconsciously you're suppressing yourself with the compounding of errors. "It obviously needs to be addressed."

Rugby-Argentina send Lions down under with 28-24 warm-up defeat

Hindustan Times

an hour ago

Sport
Hindustan Times

Rugby-Argentina send Lions down under with 28-24 warm-up defeat

By Padraic Halpin HT Image DUBLIN -Argentina beat a stuttering British and Irish Lions for the first time ever on Friday with a 28-24 warm-up game victory at the Aviva Stadium that left coach Andy Farrell with plenty to do as his squad get ready to leave for Australia. While Farrell barely had enough bodies to make up a matchday squad after deciding to give the majority who played in English Premiership and URC finals last Saturday the evening off, he had hoped the others would grasp the opportunity. Few did and just as Argentina did when the sides' last met in a 25-25 draw before the 2005 tour, the Pumas had the Lions on the ropes early thanks to tries from Ignacio Mendy and Tomas Albornoz either side of a Bundee Aki effort that gave them a deserved 21-10 halftime lead. While the Lions were a different animal early in the second half and regained the lead after a penalty try and another home crowd score, this time for Tadhg Beirne, Santiago Cordero put Argentina back in front with another great team try and the error-strewn Lions could not reply again. "We talked in the week about this amazing opportunity, We wanted to come here and do a good job. It's amazing," player of the match Albornoz said in a pitchside interview. Argentina, who were also missing some key players still involved in the French Top 14 playoffs, showed they were here to play with a couple of early warning shots before a brilliant set piece try after the sides had traded early penalties. Quick ball and quick hands carved the Lions' defence open for fullback Santiago Carreras to throw a deft dummy and find Mendy, whose step inside left Duhan van der Merwe on his backside. The Lions also showed some early attacking intent and after two tries were chalked off for knock ons either side of Mendy's effort, one of the few available Irishmen Aki brought a huge cheer from the sea of red by bulldozing over on 20 minutes. But it was very scrappy for Farrell's men after that, with the rust of their early days together showing up in yet more knock ons, a misfiring lineout and missing almost twice as many tackles as their opponents by halftime. After two more Albornoz penalties edged Argentina in front, the flyhalf benefited from some more untidy Lions play, this time deep in Puma territory, to dive under the posts and into a sea of nearby Argentine replacements right on halftime. "TEETHING ISSUES" The second half started off a lot looser and the Lions were much more awake to it. The game looked like it might swing just a few minutes in when their forward pressure forced the penalty try and a yellow card for Argentina prop Mayco Vivas. Another try looked inevitable before Vivas returned as the Lions began to empty what on paper was a far more loaded bench. Beirne obliged shortly after a huge carry from Ellis Genge. But the mistakes began to creep in again and multiply as Argentina showed all they needed was a sniff, breaking from their own half before replacement Matias Moroni kicked in behind for fellow sub Cordero to beat Marcus Smith to a footrace. Some Argentine players were in tears when the final whistle sounded as they secured their first win in eight attempts, six of which were in tours of South America almost a century ago. For the Lions they have five more games in Australia and plenty more time together to set things right before the first test against the Wallabies on July 19. "There's a few teething issues," said Lions captain Maro Itoje. "We're building a team. I think we showed glimmers of what we can do. We'll learn and we'll definitely get better." This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

British and Irish Lions 24 Argentina 28: Lions stunned by Pumas to lose opening match for first time in 54 years

Scottish Sun

2 hours ago

Sport
Scottish Sun

British and Irish Lions 24 Argentina 28: Lions stunned by Pumas to lose opening match for first time in 54 years

Scroll down to see the scorers LION TAMERS British and Irish Lions 24 Argentina 28: Lions stunned by Pumas to lose opening match for first time in 54 years Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MARO ITOJE's Lions failed to roar as they were mauled by the Pumas to start their summer with a flop. Itoje's side will fly to Australia with a massive hangover from this reverse and only days to sort themselves out down under. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Argentina edged out the British and Irish Lions Credit: PA 3 It is the first time the Lions have lost their first game in over 50 years Credit: Getty 3 Itoje was taken off with nine minutes to go Credit: Getty Itoje himself was replaced with nine minutes left and although his side chucked everything at it in the final 10 the Pumas held out. The Lions had fought back from 11 points down at half-time thanks to a penalty try and a score from Tadhg Beirne made by Tomos Williams' pass. Most of the team on show have only had 10 days together and it showed with dropped passes and some wonky line outs before they hit their stride in the second half. In 2021, the Lions beat Japan 28-10 in Edinburgh in a warm-up and seven of the starters made into the run-on team in the first Test against South Africa in Cape Town. READ MORE RUGBY NEWS BEACH LIFE Swansea set to have new seaside stadium with club to leave 21,088-seater home So this was an audition which England wing Tommy Freeman passed with flying colours but Duhan van der Merwe fluffed his lines. The Argentinians beat all of the southern hemisphere big dogs in the Rugby Championship last year and are no mugs and are ranked fifth in the world, three places above Australia and ahead of England, Scotland and Wales. And the best of British were 21-10 down at the break as their defence was ripped open too often for comfort. The Pumas were quickly 8-3 up thanks to a score from wing Ignacio Mendy who cut inside a back tracking Duhan van der Merwe to touch down. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS Then Itoje's side had tries for Luke Cowan-Dickie and centre Sione Tuipulotu chalked off by the TMO. Cowan-Dickie dropped the ball over the line and Alex Mitchell knocked on in the build-up to Tuipulotu's effort. The Lions scrum held up well and their attacking finally got some change out of the visitors when Bundee Aki went route one to bulldoze over on 18 minutes. But Puma fly-half Tomas Albornoz added a try from his own half to his three first-half penalties just before half-time. But Farrell must have had some harsh words at the break as the Lions came out firing and were soon over for the penalty try and Beirne's score put them into a 24-21 lead but Santiago Cordero's score grabbed it back and the Pumas stayed in front.

British and Irish Lions v Argentina result: Pumas hand Lions defeat ahead of Australia tour

NZ Herald