The 2025 British & Irish Lions tour is up and running but here was a reminder that not everything can be minutely choreographed. This was anything but a comfortable evening for the coaches and players who were given a serious workout prior to climbing on board the plane to Perth this weekend and embarking on their eagerly awaited Australian tour.
Should they win the Test series 3-0, of course, this pre-departure wake-up call will rate as only a minor footnote in the great scheme of things. The Wallabies, nevertheless, will have taken due note of the positive manner with which Argentina approached the contest. The Pumas, despite the absence of some first-choice players, led by 11 points at half-time and battled heroically right to the end.
Maybe, one day, the Lions will find it in their hearts – and wallets – to agree to a full tour of South America which, on this evidence, would be a guaranteed crowd pleaser. As for the Lions, playing in Ireland for the first time, it is too early to draw hard and fast individual conclusions but Tadhg Beirne and Sione Tuipulotu both had influential games and the two starting props Ellis Genge and Finlay Bealham initially gave their opposite numbers a notably tough time in the set scrums.
It was also a more than decent occasion which further underlined the power of one of rugby’s most evocative brands. Even Munster fans would have been impressed by the sea of red jerseys all around the Aviva Stadium and, despite some punchy ticket prices, the attendance was a 51,700 sellout.
Everyone had been keenly aware all week that pre-departure games can be a mixed blessing. Four years ago, Alun Wyn Jones was ruled out of the early stages of the tour after damaging a shoulder against Japan at Murrayfield and the unsettling possibility of being sidelined before the plane south has left the runway inevitably hung in the humid evening air.
Admittedly it was nowhere near as sultry as it was in Hong Kong in 2013 when Warren Gatland’s Lions were greeted by almost unplayable conditions, with temperatures of 31C and humidity nudging 90%. The other big difference was the calibre of the opposition. The Pumas were not absolutely at full strength but whenever Pablo Matera, Juan Martín González and Julián Montoya take the field they are never less than fully committed.
It required the Lions to be “on it” from the outset because the pace of the game was nothing like a gentle friendly. Luke Cowan-Dickie came close to an opening try only to lose control of the ball in the act of scoring and, after Tomás Albornoz and Fin Smith had swapped penalties apiece, it was the Pumas who seized the initiative thanks to a nicely taken 11th-minute try by their speedy left wing Ignacio Mendy.
The Lions also had a second potential score by Tuipulotu correctly ruled out for a prior knock-on by Alex Mitchell but their cohesion was steadily improving, helped by the established England half-back pairing of Mitchell and Fin Smith. Both were involved along with Marcus Smith in keeping a promising move alive before the physical Bundee Aki took the most direct available route to the try-line.
Also noticeable was the collective sense of purpose; no Lions team can afford to be a team full of look-at-me individuals. These are clearly early days but Tuipulotu looks to be the kind of player any centre would love to play alongside and the calmly assured Fin Smith also looked at ease in the same red jersey worn by his grandfather, Tom Elliot, on the 1955 tour to South Africa.
The scrum was also a positive area, in contrast to an initially misfiring lineout. There was also no doubting the heft of some of the Lions’ defensive tackling, an area in which this squad have the potential to excel, but the odd little error was undermining their prospects. On the stroke of half-time Duhan van der Merwe, desperate to impress, lost the ball 15 metres from the line and the Pumas took gleeful advantage, Santiago Carreras releasing Albornoz for a swallow dive score at the other end.
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The 21-10 interval scoreline demanded a swift response, which duly materialised within five minutes of the restart. The Lions opted to trust their driving maul with the line in sight and a concerted surge gave the opposing pack little option but to drag it down, costing them a penalty try and 10 minutes in the sin bin for Mayco Vivas.
The raft of Lions subs also brought fresh energy and, soon enough, they were back ahead. Genge came charging through the middle in proper rhino fashion and, eventually, Beirne added the finishing gloss.
The Pumas, though, also found a second wind and another daring counterattack from deep in their own half yielded their third try of the night courtesy of the pacy Santiago Cordero.
If the Australian leg of the tour is equally full of thrills and spills, the next few weeks will be excellent viewing.
