British & Irish Lions 24-28 Argentina
Tries from Aki and Beirne not enough for victory
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.
