British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell branded his sideâs performance in defeat to Argentina ânot acceptableâ in a scathing assessment to Sky Sports.
The Lions began their 2025 tour with a 28-24 defeat to the Pumas in Dublin on Friday, as Felipe Contepomiâs side made history in beating the tourists for the first time.
The Lions came from 11 points down to lead in the second half, but Argentina refused to lie down and came out on top in a contest in which they scored three sensational tries.
A number of Lions knock-ons, errors and ill-advised offloads incensed Farrell, who issued a scathing assessment of his sideâs first outing ahead of their Australia tour.
âIt wasnât exactly a show from us, it was a show from Argentina. First and foremost, congratulations to them, they thoroughly deserve their win,â Farrell said.
âThey capitalised on all the errors we made. But as far as weâre concerned, there is a lot to do. You cannot win any Test match with that error rate.
âWe lost enough ball there for a full tour, let alone a match against a good side like Argentina. We threw passes that were never on.
âIt wasnât just that, it was the aerial battle and the scraps on the floor. They were hungrier than us, that is just not acceptable. The lineout and breakdown work was off a bit at times.
âIâm disappointed. We need to be honest with ourselves, take the learning and improve, then at least it will stand for something.â
Asked whether he felt any of the new Lions combinations worked well in the contest, Farrell said he wouldnât be drawn on names and cut a frustrated figure with the defeat.
âThere was good and bad throughout, I wouldnât single out individuals or combinations,â he said.
âWe were just a bit tentative and obviously I take responsibility for that. When we came out with a bit of fight at the start of the second half it was more like it, but we just suppressed ourselves with the error count that carried on late into the second half.
âYou donât win Test matches when things like that happen.
âWhere weâre at will certainly concentrate the minds. Weâll be honest with ourselves, we get on the plane to Australia [on Saturday].â
Whatâs next: British & Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports
Sky Sports will exclusively show the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, with all three Tests against the Wallabies and six warm-up matches to be shown exclusively live.
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