British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell branded his side’s performance in defeat to Argentina “not acceptable” 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 Contepomi’s 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 side’s first outing ahead of their Australia tour.
“It wasn’t exactly a show from us, it was a show from Argentina. First and foremost, congratulations to them, they thoroughly deserve their win,” Farrell said.
“They capitalised on all the errors we made. But as far as we’re concerned, there is a lot to do. You cannot win any Test match with that error rate.
The British and Irish Lions suffered defeat to Argentina in Dublin on Friday in their opening tour fixture
“We 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.
“It wasn’t 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.
“I’m disappointed. We need to be honest with ourselves, take the learning and improve, then at least it will stand for something.”
Farrell said he was ‘disappointed,’ adding he felt Argentina were ‘hungrier’ than his Lions side
Asked whether he felt any of the new Lions combinations worked well in the contest, Farrell said he wouldn’t be drawn on names and cut a frustrated figure with the defeat.
“There was good and bad throughout, I wouldn’t single out individuals or combinations,” he said.
“We 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.
“You don’t win Test matches when things like that happen.
“Where we’re at will certainly concentrate the minds. We’ll be honest with ourselves, we get on the plane to Australia [on Saturday].”
British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje said his side showed glimpses of what they can give but just lacked consistency against Argentina
What’s next: British & Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports
Watch the British and Irish Lions’ tour of Australia exclusively live on Sky Sports this summer
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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