Five talking points from the Lions’ loss to Argentina

No British and Irish Lions had lost their first tour match since 1971 before losing 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin on Friday night.

Few, however, will have faced a songbird-like and strong opposition as the Pumas.

At the Lions media briefing on Wednesday, there was no contest for word of the day; “cohesion” was unquestionably the topic.

Given how clunky these affairs have been in recent years and that this was a brand-new side’s first hit, it was reasonable to assume clicking quickly would be difficult.

However, Tadhg Beirne, a two-time Lion, initially seemed a little perplexed by the idea, reminding us that we were talking about “world class” players.

The Lions attack felt like it should be evaluated in two different ways over the course of their first 80 minutes of play: ambition and execution.

Their shape was strong, and they provided plenty of opportunities through precise passages.

However, they were lacking when it came to the latter. One serious issue was with offloads that went straight to the ground or into Argentina’s hands, which were also difficult to handle.

While the bones of a positive display with ball in hand were intact, Farrell will undoubtedly demand that his side be sharper once they arrive on Australian soil.

When the Lions first team up, a natural tendency is to look at attacking combinations, but Friday’s defeat once more served as a reminder of the difficulties of quickly combining a group of outstanding players into a Test-ready unit at the set-piece.

The line-out was perhaps the most concerning aspect of the performance, despite the numerous errors made with the ball.

Given that the maul did make headway when they got it right, the Lions did 18 throws from touch and were turned over four times. This was disappointing.

“We were just finding our rhythm, and we’ll never get it as smooth as we wanted,” said skipper Maro Itoje.

“We’ll review, we’ll learn from it, and we’ll improve.”

I believe that will happen as we strengthen our relationships and as we spend more time together educating and understanding each other’s triggers.

A different story emerged from the scrum. The front row were able to win a number of penalties in what Farrell called an “aggressive” performance at the set-piece.

When Joe Schmidt was Ireland’s coach between 2013 and 2019, a large portion of his success was due to his ability to systematically exploit weaknesses of his opponents.

The Lions’ defensive struggles and their back-three struggles are certain to have caught the attention of the head coach of Australia, who has been watching events in Dublin.

Overuse of tackles did not stick, and Argentina definitely got the better of it when putting boot to ball, but there were times when those on the outside were left in unviable positions out wide.

Should the Lions not improve in that area before the Test series, some of Schmidt’s more athletic backs would undoubtedly enjoy their chances in an aerial battle.

Farrell expressed frustration with his team’s inability to win loose balls when things did start to get messy after spilled kicks.

He said, “What’s disappointing is scraps on the floor from that kind of battle always go to Argentina.”

We can’t tolerate some of their fighting and hunger.

Some people will be happy, while others will be sad, and they will be dying to get another chance, according to Farrell when it came to how those involved had affected their Test chances.

Anyone’s guess what will happen to those who didn’t succeed in impressing.

The Lions’ lack of involvement in the United Rugby Championship and Premiership finals, as well as Toulouse’s Blair Kinghorn, was hardly ideal given the tour’s schedule.

However, Farrell now has a chance to start things up against Western Force after coming off a defeat. A number of players are all set to take their first game of the trip.

Hugo Keenan and James Lowe, who are both expected to improve things especially under the high ball, would appear to be more suitable for the outside center role.

Although the occasion warranted it, it certainly felt like a Lions Test in terms of the name.

Maro Itoje’s summary read, “Spectacular.”

It was interesting to watch red jerseys flutter around the streets just before kick-off because a large portion of the crowd, estimated to be at Aviva Stadium in the morning, appeared to be there.

When you consider the South Africa trip from four years ago, which was played in virtually empty stadiums as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, Friday serves as a reminder of how significant a part the visiting supporters will play when this tour arrives in Australia.

Bundee Aki, a center who was on that South Africa tour four years ago, said, “I don’t think the fans fully understand how important it is to us.