FT – British & Irish Lions 24 Argentina 28
Read Gerry Thornley’s match report here.
And last but not least, here are Johnny Watterson’s player ratings, Ben Earl and Tommy Freeman topping the class on this occasion:
That’s all from me folks, goodnight.
And following close behind is John O’Sullivan with his analysis of Fin Smith’s performance at outhalf.
“Tom Elliot died four years before Fin Smith was born in 1998, Lion number 380 and Lion number 862, a Scotland prop and an England outhalf.
“At the Aviva Stadium on Friday the pair claimed a unique milestone as the first grandfather and grandson to represent the touring team,” John writes. How about that for a family tradition.
Read the full piece below:
“History was made on a historic night, although not the kind which the Lions desired,” Gerry Thornley writes in his report of the game.
“Instead of a winning send-off to Australia, it was Los Pumas who marked the 60th anniversary of the year they effectively came into being with a first ever win over the famed Lions.”
Read his report in full below:
[ Lions left to rue missed chances as Argentina win in DublinOpens in new window ]
Thanks Jonny, thanks.
Ever so slightly different post match interviews from the captains, as you’d imagine...
We have plenty of post-match content to come:
- Gerry Thornley’s match report is on route
- John O’Sullivan casts his eye on Fin Smith’s performance during his first outing in the pivotal 10 jersey
- Johnny Watterson runs the rule over all 23 men in red with his player ratings
Stay tuned!
This score ultimately defined the match. Both on the scoreboard and in terms of narrative.
In Albornoz, Moroni, Cordero et al, Argentina had players able to break up play and score from anywhere. They were ruthless. The Lions were not.
That said, how bad were they actually?
In attack, made 401 metres after contact, six line breaks to boot. The problem wasn’t finding gaps, it was what happened next. 15 entries to the 22 yielded just 1.4 points per entry.
By contrast, the Pumas scored 4.1 points for each of their six entries. Do they just have better finishers in the likes of Mendy and Cordero? They certainly have speedsters. The Lions will hope their own finishers - Freeman, van der Merwe, Lowe etc - get more opportunities going forward. Those players had plenty of touches, but precious few inside the 22.
What to make of the Lions, time to panic? Joe Schmidt has certainly been given a blueprint (not that he needed one...)
Kick to anyone in the backfield not named Freeman, keep bodies in the line and go after the lineout. Are Australia good enough to replicate that against a much better-organised Lions outfit? We will find out.
Andy Farrell’s side coughed up 19 turnovers, were guilty of overplaying (and not kicking enough), and had a malfunctioning lineout. All hallmarks of a new group of players yet to click. They won’t be this bad again, will they?
Argentina spoil the party! They had the less ambitious, but more effective game plan. They kicked plenty, refused to play in their own half and rode their defence - plus Lions errors - to take the victory.
Their ability to score two opportunistic tries from nothing also did no harm. None at all.
Full-time: Lions 24 Argentina 28
Isgro wins a turnover at the ruck right on his own 22, booting the ball into the stands to seal the win for Argentina!
80 mins: Our friend Boris Wenger hits Furlong high and he looks lucky not to be carded. Argentina also strayed offside while under advantage, so the Lions take the penalty further up the pitch.
It’s not Fin Smith’s best touchfinder. Lions lineout only just inside the 22.
Furlong has to go off for a HIA after that high shot. Bealham will end the game at tighthead.
80 mins: Earl is tackled off the ball but Doleman wants to avoid giving a match-defining penalty if he doesn’t have to.
Hansen takes the ball at speed to break over halfway.
Now an advantage does come, the TMO has spotted a high tackle somewhere.
78 mins: Argentina go too long with their lineout but the ball bounces back on their side. Argentina kick and Freeman spills. Well, Doleman says it went backwards off blue. The ball rebounds back towards the 22 but Argentina do recover. They’re in clock killing mode now.
77 mins: The Lions put 11 men into a maul which falls short. That leaves them with no options when they need to play the ball. Fortunately for them, Oviedo strays offside.
Well he did, but the TMO spotted a neck-roll. Tadhg Beirne is the guilty party and Argentina get a relieving penalty.
76 mins: The Lions really want referee Doleman to give a scrum penalty. He really doesn’t want to. When Montoya spins through and kicks the ball out of Williams’ hand, Doleman has no choice.
Daly kicks to the corner. This is the game.
75 mins: Both sets of frontrows go up in the scrum. Schoeman is not having the same dominance Genge had earlier.
A reset takes precious seconds off the clock for the Lions.
74 mins: Surprisingly, Argentina look to play from their own half. This after they’ve kicked the leather off everything. Now, with the lead and 6 minutes on the clock, they run. Anyway, Daly flies out of the line to knock them back. Now they kick, but not on their own terms.
Aerial ping-pong leads to a scrum for the Lions on the Argentina 10m line.
Farrell’s glasses have been removed. That’s his stress tell.
72 mins: Ah lads. No one jumps at the lineout and Kelleher’s throw sails over everyone. Freeman then spills when trying to gather Argentina’s clearing kick.
Just like that, Argentina go from defending a lineout inside their own half to a scrum on their own ball close to halfway.
Maro Itoje’s day is over. Scott Cummings replaces him.
70 mins: Hansen is playing like a man who knows he’ll need to tear up trees to take a Test jersey off Freeman. Lots of effort, lots of touches, not always effective, though. This one was, breaking into the 22 roaming off his wing behind this dangerous backline. A penalty follows and Fin Smith kicks into the corner.
68 mins: It will take some getting used to, applauding Henry Pollock. Anyway, he rips the ball in contact there with the Lions defending close to their own 22.
65 mins: Funny how the Lions are fiedling high kicks now the 6′3′ Freeman is taking them instead of the diminutive Smiths. One of the namesakes, Marcus, nearly breaks through a loose tackle as the game breaks up. Tuipulotu tries to offload but Argentina are there again to disrupt the pass.
Duhan van der Merwe has been spotted on the subs bench with a heavily iced ankle. Cue a myriad of anxious Scots.
63 mins: Hansen is getting on the ball plenty. With little reward. Pollock nearly makes a break close to the ruck - deja vu for Leinster fans - but his bootlaces are just about grasped. Freeman tries a chip and chase but Albornoz gathers and calls a mark.
61 mins: Once again the Lions break, once again they spill inside the 22.
The pause in play, waiting for the scrum, does allow Tadhg Furlong to come on for Bealham. He’s back playing after missing Leinster’s URC final.
Now Mack can come on. Elliot Daly enters as well. Aki is one of the players to go, van der Merwe the other.
Schoeman for Genge is a third change.
TRY ARGENTINA
CORDERO
59 mins: What a try. Wow. Just wow. Isgro wins a high ball, then Argentina go.
Albornoz steps inside off a dummy kick, shedding a poor tackle attempt from Pollock and from there they’re gone. One offload, another. Moroni kicks in behind. Cordero and Marcus Smith are in a footrace to the ball over the line... Cordero wins. Wow.
Lions 24 Argentina 28
58 mins: Freeman shows no ill effect from his hard bump off a kick chase. He barges in off his wing (again), forcing a line break. The Lions kick in behind off the back of it and pin Argentina inside their own 22.
56 mins: For once, Argentina get their kicking strategy wrong. Well that one had no strategy. Albornoz shanks a high bomb out on the full.
The yellow card is up. That infringement cost Argentina just the 14 points.
No Mack, not yet. Hansen has to put his bib back on as Freeman insists on continuing.
56 mins: Freeman and Carreras collide in the air. The Saints winger comes down hard and wants a penalty, which doesn’t come. “This isn’t tiddlywinks” says Will Greenwood on commentary. No sympathy for his compatriot there.
Freeman looking a bit ginger prompts Mack Hansen to take off his bib, prompting a cheer from the Irish crowd.
TRY LIONS
Tadhg Beirne
53 mins: Another Irish try scorer. But we’re not parochial at all here at The Irish Times. Genge starts it all off, running through a hole with power. So much power. Good luck stopping that. Argentina don’t until he gets into the 22.
Once there, Marcus Smith nearly butchers it by not passing to van der Merwe who definitely would have scored. Fortunately for his blushes, Williams picks a beautiful pass to Beirne on a hard angle. He barges over. Conversion is good.
Lions 24 Argentina 21
52 mins: The Lions are too eager to keep their scrum dominance going. They drive too early and give away a free-kick.
51 mins: Again, the build-up play from the Lions is excellent. Tuipulotu this time unlocks things before Marcus Smith steps into the 22. Fin Smith tries to free the arms in contact but a good read from replacement loosehead Boris Wenger dislodges the ball.
As a non-tory leaning Arsenal fan, that is a very confusing name to digest.
50 mins: Changes for the Lions. Kelleher is on for Cowan-Dickie at hooker. Tomos Williams is on for Mitchell at 9, and here comes Henry Pollock. He returns to the scene of his Northampton on Leinster crime in the Champions Cup semi-final. Jac Morgan has gone off.
49 mins: Scrum penalty number four for the Lions. Australia have a better scrum than this, right?
48 mins: More momentum for the Lions. This time it comes from a crooked Argentinian lineout.
Andy Farrell looks very smart with what, I think, are a new set of glasses once the camera pans to the coaches box.
PENALTY TRY
Lions
46 mins: Simple power. Catch and drive at the maul, there’s too much momentum and Argentina collapse. The referee initially gives advantage in case the ball comes out and the Lions want to play. Eventually he runs under the posts.
Loosehead Vivas is seen as the guilty party and he’s gone to the bin.
Lions 17 Argentina 21
45 mins: Argentina give away a penalty for jumping over the top of the ruck. Fin Smith kicks into the corner.
44 mins: Oh that’s so nearly sensational. The long pass over the forward pack sucks in half the defence, finding Aki in stride and in space. Curry gets his offload but spills and Argentina clear.
42 mins: An error kills their first attack. Curry’s offload to Cowan-Dickie is blind but a beauty - fortune favours the brave and all that. He tries to link with Mitchell with an offload of his own but Albornoz intercepts.
40 mins: Right then. Here’s the second half. The Lions want to play, but are making too many errors. They need to correct them, staring into an 11-point deficit.
Lions 10 Argentina 21
“Frustrating” is how Lions scrum coach John Fogarty describes the first half to Sky Sports. At least he’s happy with the scrum penalties.
15 kicks in play from Argentina compared to 13 from the Lions. They’ve targeted the two Smiths well, winning more high balls than they lose.
The Lions have still had a territorial advantage, 39 per cent of their possession coming inside the Argentinian 22, but they haven’t been able to capitalise.
Argentina have scored 3.6 points per 22 entry. The Lions are on 1.1. Differing levels of efficiency is the story of the game, which isn’t a huge surprise for a scratch squad - the Lions.
That said, Argentina haven’t played a lot together either. Their game plan - kick, kick, strike when it’s one - is simple but effective. The Lions have been more ambitious, but that does have a greater margin of error when familiarity is so low.
The final try on the stroke of half-time may have been a touch flukey in how Argentina came across possession inside their own 22. But the break from there was pure skill.
Bundee Aki did hit back off the back of some of the aforementioned decent backline play from the Lions. The M Smith - Tuipulotu - F Smith - Aki combination in the build-up was a sight to behold. As was the powerful finish, even if Aki could have passed for an easier score.
The flourishes started when Albornoz threw this beautiful flat pass to Carreras who then set up Mendy’s opening try.
Well, well, well.
For give or take half an hour, the Lions looked very good ball in hand. The Aki-Tuipulotu axis, combined with the two Smiths as playmakers and then Freeman coming in off his wing, caused plenty of problems.
Then offloads started coming which did not stick. Combine that with a Argentina kicking game which has denied the Lions the desired territory and their attack has been nullified.
A few backline flourishes, not to mention the try scored from deep right on half-time, has Argentina in a comfortable lead at the break.
TRY ARGENTINA
Albornoz
40 mins: They have even more of a cushion now! Van der Merwe drops the ball inside the 22. Argentina pick the loose ball and go from deep, Carreras straightening Marcus Smith to give the scoring pass to Albornoz. Coast to coast!
He converts his own score.
HALF-TIME: Lions 10 Argentina 21
PENALTY ARGENTINA
Albornoz
40 mins: Simple kick straight in front. Argentina have built a bit of a cushion here just before the break.
Lions 10 Argentina 14
38 mins: The Lions get a big shove on at the scrum but Oviedo plays it quickly from the base. Matera almost goes over from close range but the Lions hold out. A penalty comes.
Decision time, the Lions offside in front of their own posts. Argentina go for the posts.
36 mins: Wow. Garcia’s pass from 9 is so long it takes out multiple Lions defenders. Cinti then kicks in behind and Marcus Smith is swallowed up, tackled behind his own line. Argentina have a 5m scrum.
35 mins: Freeman tries another offload which doesn’t come off. This time it’s Marcus Smith he fails to link with. Argentina gather and kick through Carreras. It rolls all the way into touch for a 50:22. The camera pans to Contepomi in the coaching box, he enjoyed that.
TMO check
More contact which needs looking at. It’s the cleanout from Sclavi on Morgan. Did he clatter him in the head?
Not enough to warrant a change in the call. We’re playing the initial penalty earned by Morgan.
33 mins: Another error. Itoje can’t take Cowan-Dickie’s throw at the lineout, not the first time those two have failed to link at the set-piece. Here come Argentina, Oviedo and then Garcia carrying through the heart of a disorganised defence.
There’s Jac Morgan, winning a breakdown turnover just when the Lions looked stretched.
30 mins: For once, the Lions backline gets it wrong. Freeman is again involved off his wing, only his offload to Tuipulotu fails to stick. He gave the pass at the wrong time, but Freeman’s ability to dominate contact on first phase is proving elite. Argentina get a scrum inside their own 22.
29 mins: Three scrums, three penalties for the Lions. This time Bealham gets the call over loosehead Vivas. Smith kicks into the corner again.
28 mins: Argentina really are going after the Lions in the air. They nearly win a scrum off Marcus Smith, only for Mendy to get a finger-tip on it first. It seems a simple tactic, target the diminutive Smiths, but it’s a good one.
PENALTY ARGENTINA
Albornoz
27 mins: No mistake. That curls in beautifully off the left boot. Proper game this.
Lions 10 Argentina 11
25 mins: Morgan gets isolated and Matera swoops for a breakdown penalty. Good couple of minutes for Argentina after conceding the try to go behind.
Albornoz will have a kick to retake the lead.
24 mins: First set-piece malfunction of the tour. Cowan-Dickie overthrows Itoje at the lineout.
The TMO is involved, but not for the van der Merwe collision. It’s an earlier clash where Oviedo made head-on-head contact trying to tackle Fin Smith.
There’s mitigation as there’s no time to adjust and low degree of danger. Penalty only, no card.
23 mins: Van der Merwe could be in trouble here. He makes contact with Carreras’ head as the two compete for a high bomb. It looked like the Argentinian dipped significantly, so it won’t be red. But it might be checked.
TRY LIONS
Bundee Aki
20 mins: Well, he probably should have passed, but no one can complain given he did get the ball down. The Lions again get scrum advantage, Genge marmalising Sclavi. From flank to flank, the Lions have too much power and the ball eventually comes to Aki in front of a stretched line.
He could have fed it wide for a simple finish, instead he carries through two defenders for his own try. The Lions backline, with the two Smiths and a pair of big, skillful centres, is looking good.
Lions 10 Argentina 8
18 mins: No try.
Argentina did knock-on while trying to tackle Mitchell, but there is no advantage as the 9 then spilled before Tuipulotu scored.
Shame, as Aki’s hard carry and pass out the back sucked in three defenders to beautifully open up the gap. Lions scrum deep inside the 22.
TMO
Tuipulotu is over but we need to have a look. It looked like Mitchell might have spilled before feeding the Scottish centre for the score, but it could have hit an Argentinian hand.
16 mins: Now Sclavi gives away a penalty at the scrum, Genge forcing him to collapse. The Lions play with advantage, Freeman again hungry for work off his wing.
No advantage as the Lions spill. Back we go for the scrum penalty. Freeman has been the Lions best player so far, a big body flying into contact off his wing in the way Farrell so loves.
Smith goes to the corner, turning down the shot at goal.
15 mins: A big shot from Bealham forces a spill in contact. Argentina score but fail to exit, tighthead Sclavi guilty of the knock-on.
Try Argentina
Ignacio Mendy
13 mins: Brilliant set-piece try. A hard carry up the middle sucks in the defence. Carreras then comes onto the ball, fizzing a pass across would-be carriers to feed Mendy. He steps inside the cover to score with a silky finish.
Albornoz misses the wide conversion.
Lions 3 Argentina 8
12 mins: Andy Farrell is letting the boys play. Mitchell gets caught on his own line after Albornoz’s perfectly weighted kick. Albornoz follows up the kick to try and tackle the Saints scrumhalf over the line. CUe a chickern wing offload to Freeman behind the posts to clear.
Penalty Lions
Fin Smith
Argentina infringe at the ruck, giving Smith his first shot at goal of the day. No mistake from the 10m line, just to the right of the posts.
Lions 3 Argentina 3
9 mins: Wow, the Lions definitely want to entertain. Aki is prominent with his pull-back passes behind a decoy. Both Smiths are also heavily involved. Freeman comes in off his wing to link with van der Merwe. It’s quick, finding mis-matches and playmakers are making good decisions.
Fin Smith puts in a good cross-kick looking for Morgan on the wing, but Mendy rises above him brilliantly to claim above his head. A try-saver.
NO TRY
Cowan-Dickie spilled the ball over the line. Argentina survive and will have a goal-line drop. Shame, the England hooker initially did very well to break off the maul and through a defender. Just couldn’t apply the finishing touch.
NOT SO FAST
Replays show Cowan-Dickie might have spilled that over the line. The TMO has intervened. On-field decision was try.
Try Lions
Luke Cowan-Dickie
8 mins: The Lions’ maul is held well short but Cowan-Dickie manages to peel and power over with a good finish.
7 mins: Chance! Now the Lions go close after a loose ball via a kick. Itoje claims it and the ball immediately goes through the Smiths, Fin and Marcus. Duhan van der Merwe boshes his way into the 22 but he doesn’t see Mitchell on his inside. If the pass came, the Lions were under the sticks.
As it happens, Jac Morgan carries out wide and does well to throw the ball of an Argentinian shirt and into touch.
Penalty Argentina
Albornoz taps over the simple penalty in front of the posts.
B&I Lions 0 Argentina 3
4 mins: The Lions give away a penalty under their own posts. Offside the transgression, Fin Smith the transgressor. It’s been a tough start for him. Given the way they were stretched after failing to deal with a high bomb, the Lions won’t mind seeing captain Montoya pointing to the sticks.
3 mins: Argentina have kicked three times to Fin Smith. Twice he’s failed to deal with it. The loose ball is spread to the Argentinian left flank, Mendy using his pace to break deep into the 22.
Early trouble for the Lions.
2 mins: It takes just 40 seconds for the first chant of LIONS, LIONS. Argentina quell that dirge with a high bomb which Fin Smith fails to take. He does a better job moments later in the backfield when safely fielding and Albornoz grubber.
1 min: Finally, time for rugby. Dublin looks to have delivered, at least pre-match at least. The atmosphere does have this feeling more than just a tour warm-up. For now at least.
Referee James Doleman, a Kiwi, gets us underway with a shrill blast of his whistle. Argentina kick off through Tomas Albornoz. His kick is short and Tadhg Beirne claims.
No matter how many Fifa World Cups or Autumn internationals I watch, I never fail to be surprised by how long it takes the Argentinian anthem to get going. That must be one of the world’s longest intros.
The Sky Sports broadcast has a win predictor named after Bil the Lion (yes, it’s spelled with one L).
They’re giving the Lions a 77 per cent chance of winning. What you reckon?
Amidst all the Lions hype, we’ve neglected the opposition. How could we do that to Felipe?
Contepomi spoke to John O’Sullivan during the week. Inevitably, given his previous ownership of the Leinster 10 jersey, a young chap by the name of Prendergast - and the Ireland outhalf debate - came up.
Home comforts for the Irish lads. To be fair, Bundee always gets the loudest cheer when announced at Ireland games.
Followed by the now obligatory Andy-Owen content. Owen, of course, wasn’t picked by his dad for this Lions tour. He’s on punditry duty with Sky Sports.
Feels like hearing from Dad to be honest.
Here’s Andy:
Hear from Lions captain Maro Itoje ahead of kick-off. Call it knowing your audience (you are reading The Irish Times, after all), but in another, injury-free world, it would be Caelan Doris that we’re hearing from. Would I be saying that if blogging for The Times of London?
I guess we’ll never know.
For all the hoopla of tonight, Denis Walsh wrote an interesting column to bring us all back to earth. This tour will be a walkover, right? ...
By plenty of accounts, Dublin is hopping tonight. We wondered, given the high ticket prices, how the crowds would look. To be honest, if you forked out €150+ for a ticket (plus travel and hotel if coming from out of town), you’d make sure you enjoyed yourself.
One Irish international involved of particular interest is Connacht’s Mack Hansen. Starting on the bench in the 23 shirt, this will be the first time we see him in action since April 12th. Injury ended his domestic season then.
While Farrell has certainly been limited in his selection by domestic commitments, he’s still made an early statement with tonight’s centre pairing. Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu were seen as initial combatants for the Test 12 jersey, but they combine in midfield this evening.
It’s an intriguing pairing, arguably the most interesting selection of this first game. Our own John O’Sullivan analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the move, including the risk of playing Tuipulotu out of position.
Speaking of that game 20 years ago, Gordon D’Arcy of this parish was involved that day, wearing 12 for the Lions. He’s got some good insight into what it was like for a scratch outfit coming together at the last minute. D’Arcy also explains some of the warning signs from that game which foreshadowed the disaster that was that tour to New Zealand.
The Lions in Dublin - what to expect?
Argentina of course are led by a familiar face in former Leinster outhalf and assistant coach Felipe Contepomi.
Los Pumas are depleted by the Top 14 semi finals. Toulouse’s Santiago Chocobares and Juan Cruz Mallia are not available in Dublin, for instance. Secondrow Guido Petti is with Bordeaux and backrow Facundo Isa is at Toulouse in their respective clash tomorrow.
But the last time Argentina met the Lions in 2005, that was nothing more than a scratch team. They still gave the men in red a scare in Cardiff 20 years ago.
Let’s start with the teams. In many ways, Farrell’s team picks itself given the volume of players involved in last weekend’s domestic action. Ahead of a long flight down under, Rónan Kelleher - starting on the bench tonight - is the only domestic finalist involved tonight.
The majority of the Leinster contingent have the weekend off given their run to the URC title, while Bath’s Finn Russell is also given a breather after his side won the Premiership.
Scottish fullback Blair Kinghorn is still on duty with Toulouse who face Bayonne tonight in the Top 14 semi-final.
In terms of Irish involved, Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Finlay Bealham all start. Tadhg Furlong (injured for Leinster’s URC run), Kelleher and Mack Hansen are all on the bench.
Good evening all and welcome to live coverage of the opening match of the 2025 Lions tour.
Nathan here to guide you through all the action as Andy Farrell’s side takes on Argentina in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
