THIS WAS A cracking occasion and a cracking contest. The build-up was all about Andy Farrell’s Lions and the start of their 2025 odyssey, but this game ended up being more about the brilliance of Felipe Contepomi’s Argentina.
It was a Lions performance that featured the expected levels of disconnection as Farrell’s men failed to stick it all together for sizeable chunks of the game and found themselves punished by a lethal Argentinian side.
There were plenty of signs of promise from the Lions, especially in attack as they scored a couple of impressive tries through Ireland’s Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne, as well as earning a penalty try with a powerful maul.
Farrell will be disappointed that the thrilling Pumas just had more energy and alertness in key moments, though he’ll probably have expected the bitty showing from his side on their opening night.
A sold-out Aviva Stadium made plenty of noise as the locals and visiting fans combined for a reminder of how big a deal the Lions are. The atmosphere on this beautiful, warm summer evening was memorable.
Los Pumas scored three excellent tries and their halfback pairing of Gonzalo García and Tomás Albornoz purred.
Sione Tuipulotu looks to offload. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
This is a historic evening for Argentina, who drew with the Lions 20 years ago in Cardiff and now have an excellent win over them to celebrate. After an impressive 2024, this was a perfect start to the year for Contepomi’s side.
It wasn’t that for Farrell’s men, though they won’t be panicking ahead of their departure for Australia tomorrow.
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Ellis Genge was perhaps the pick of the Lions, dominating the scrums along with Finlay Bealham, while also bringing venom in his carrying. Skipper Maro Itoje was equally prominent in the contact, although he and lock partner Beirne will be frustrated that the lineout had several malfunctions.
Aki and Sione Tuipulotu were powerful in midfield, as expected, but overall it was a game of flashes of quality from the Lions rather than a convincing collective performance.
The Lions had made a bright start and Aki’s 20th-minute score gave them a popular 10-8 lead, but they dipped quite drastically in the second quarter to trail the lively Pumas 21-10 at half time.
The Lions’ start to the second half was superb, but they struggled again in the final 20 minutes of the game amid lots of changes off the bench. There were late chances to grab a win but Farrell’s men came up short.
Bundee Aki scores the Lions' first try of 2025.
Los Pumas were off the mark first as they twice won the ball back with contestable kicks over Fin Smith, the second of them sparking a counter-attack that earned a penalty for Albornoz to slot for 3-0.
The Lions had an almost instant chance to respond as left wing Duhan van der Merwe showed his impressive power to break through but failed to pass inside to the supporting Alex Mitchell for a possible score. Two minutes later, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie knocked on over the tryline as he tried to dot down from a close-range maul.
The Lions got off the mark with a Fin Smith penalty just after a cracking turnover from flanker Tom Curry, but Contepomi’s men bounced back swiftly with a superb try. They carried in midfield off a lineout, then Albornoz’s wide pass sent them outside the right edge of the narrow Lions defence for wing Ignacio Mendy to finish superbly.
Sione Tuipulotu had a possible try chalked off in the 18th minute as a TMO review showed scrum-half Mitchell had knocked on just before the ball found the Scottish centre, but the Lions finally had their first try of 2025 through Aki soon after.
From there, the Lions seemed to lose their way as a few lineout malfunctions denied them a platform to attack from. A big breakdown turnover from Pumas flanker Pablo Matera allowed Albornoz to nudge them back in front from the tee, while the Lions’ promising attack began to stutter.
The Aviva Stadium turned red. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Breakdown poaches from captain Maro Itoje and Welsh flanker Jac Morgan helped the Lions to stem the tide for a while, but a 50:22 kick gave the Pumas access into the Lions 22 and they forced Marcus Smith over his own line with another clever dink in behind before applying pressure with their carrying to earn a penalty for a 14-10 lead.
With just a minute left until the break, that appeared to be it for the first half but the Lions were sucker-punched as van der Merwe lost control of the ball in a carry and the Pumas pounced.
Back row Juan Martín Gonzalez scooped the ball up and launched the counter, with fullback Santiago Carreras calmly drawing last man Marcus Smith to send Albornoz streaking away under the posts before adding the conversion himself.
21-10 down, the Lions needed a strong start to the second half. They got it.
There was a freewheeling edge to their attack, with Tuipulotu breaking out of his own half down the right before classy Morgan and van der Merwe offloads. The Pumas were penalised as they scrambled, the Lions kicked to the corner, and an outstanding maul was on its way to the tryline before Mayco Vivas dropped it. Penalty try and yellow card.
Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
The Lions showed their power to great effect as they made their numerical advanage count with their third try.
It was Genge who made the big linebreak in midfield off a clever lineout strike near the Pumas’ 10-metre line and though Marcus Smith could have sent van der Merwe over in the left corner, the Lions made it count as replacement scrum-half Tomos Williams cleverly found Beirne charging into a hole for the score.
Fin Smith’s conversion had the Lions 24-21 up but the Pumas weren’t going to simply fade out of the game. Instead, they produced another sublime attack finished by former Connacht man Santiago Cordero in the left corner.
It came from right wing Rodrigo Isgro winning another aerial contest over van der Merwe, then Albornoz stepped the onrushing Curry and fended Henry Pollock – just on the pitch – before offloading to send the Pumas surging upfield. Sub centre Joaquín Moro delivered a sumptuous grubber in behind for Cordero to win the race. Albornoz calmly slotted the extras for a 28-24 lead.
Farrell sent on Tadhg Furlong, Pierre Schoeman, Mack Hansen, and Elliot Daly in one batch of replacements with a quarter still to go but the Lions struggled for cohesion amidst more promising build-up play in the final quarter.
A botched lineout down in the Pumas’ 22 with eight minutes to go was a big moment and the Lions had another visit shortly after, only for Beirne – now acting as captain after Itoje’s departure – to get caught for a neck roll.
With the clock ticking into the red, a penalty saw Fin Smith kick down the left and into the 22 once more. It wasn’t to be. The Pumas earned one final turnover and celebrated their historic success.
Lions scorers:
Tries: Bundee Aki, Penalty try, Tadhg Beirne
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Conversions: Fin Smith [2 from 2]
Penalties: Fin Smith [1 from 1]
Argentina scorers:
Tries: Ignacio Mendy, Tomás Albornoz, Santiago Cordero
Conversions: Tomás Albornoz [2 from 3]
Penalties: Tomás Albornoz [3 from 3]
LIONS: Marcus Smith; Tommy Freeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki (Elliot Daly ’60), Duhan van der Merwe (Mack Hansen ’60); Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell (Tomos Williams ’50); Ellis Genge (Pierre Schoeman ’60), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Rónan Kelleher ’50), Finlay Bealham (Tadhg Furlong ’60, HIA reversal ’81); Maro Itoje (captain) (Scott Cummings 72′), Tadhg Beirne; Tom Curry, Jac Morgan (Henry Pollock ’50), Ben Earl.
ARGENTINA: Santiago Carreras; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti (Matías Moroni ’56 (HIA – (Joaquín Moro ’61 to ’66)), Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy (Santiago Cordero ’46); Tomás Albornoz, Gonzalo García (Simón Benitez Cruz ’71); Mayco Vivas (yellow card ’46) (Boris Wenger ’67), Julian Montoya (captain) (Bautista Bernasconi ’80), Joel Sclavi (Francisco Coria Marchetti ’48); Franco Molina (Santiago Grondona ’60), Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martín Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo (Boris Wenger ’48 to ’56).
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Farrell's Lions beaten as brilliant Pumas spoil Dublin leaving party
Lions 24
Argentina 28
THIS WAS A cracking occasion and a cracking contest. The build-up was all about Andy Farrell’s Lions and the start of their 2025 odyssey, but this game ended up being more about the brilliance of Felipe Contepomi’s Argentina.
It was a Lions performance that featured the expected levels of disconnection as Farrell’s men failed to stick it all together for sizeable chunks of the game and found themselves punished by a lethal Argentinian side.
There were plenty of signs of promise from the Lions, especially in attack as they scored a couple of impressive tries through Ireland’s Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne, as well as earning a penalty try with a powerful maul.
Farrell will be disappointed that the thrilling Pumas just had more energy and alertness in key moments, though he’ll probably have expected the bitty showing from his side on their opening night.
A sold-out Aviva Stadium made plenty of noise as the locals and visiting fans combined for a reminder of how big a deal the Lions are. The atmosphere on this beautiful, warm summer evening was memorable.
Los Pumas scored three excellent tries and their halfback pairing of Gonzalo García and Tomás Albornoz purred.
This is a historic evening for Argentina, who drew with the Lions 20 years ago in Cardiff and now have an excellent win over them to celebrate. After an impressive 2024, this was a perfect start to the year for Contepomi’s side.
It wasn’t that for Farrell’s men, though they won’t be panicking ahead of their departure for Australia tomorrow.
Ellis Genge was perhaps the pick of the Lions, dominating the scrums along with Finlay Bealham, while also bringing venom in his carrying. Skipper Maro Itoje was equally prominent in the contact, although he and lock partner Beirne will be frustrated that the lineout had several malfunctions.
Aki and Sione Tuipulotu were powerful in midfield, as expected, but overall it was a game of flashes of quality from the Lions rather than a convincing collective performance.
The Lions had made a bright start and Aki’s 20th-minute score gave them a popular 10-8 lead, but they dipped quite drastically in the second quarter to trail the lively Pumas 21-10 at half time.
The Lions’ start to the second half was superb, but they struggled again in the final 20 minutes of the game amid lots of changes off the bench. There were late chances to grab a win but Farrell’s men came up short.
Los Pumas were off the mark first as they twice won the ball back with contestable kicks over Fin Smith, the second of them sparking a counter-attack that earned a penalty for Albornoz to slot for 3-0.
The Lions had an almost instant chance to respond as left wing Duhan van der Merwe showed his impressive power to break through but failed to pass inside to the supporting Alex Mitchell for a possible score. Two minutes later, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie knocked on over the tryline as he tried to dot down from a close-range maul.
The Lions got off the mark with a Fin Smith penalty just after a cracking turnover from flanker Tom Curry, but Contepomi’s men bounced back swiftly with a superb try. They carried in midfield off a lineout, then Albornoz’s wide pass sent them outside the right edge of the narrow Lions defence for wing Ignacio Mendy to finish superbly.
Sione Tuipulotu had a possible try chalked off in the 18th minute as a TMO review showed scrum-half Mitchell had knocked on just before the ball found the Scottish centre, but the Lions finally had their first try of 2025 through Aki soon after.
From there, the Lions seemed to lose their way as a few lineout malfunctions denied them a platform to attack from. A big breakdown turnover from Pumas flanker Pablo Matera allowed Albornoz to nudge them back in front from the tee, while the Lions’ promising attack began to stutter.
Breakdown poaches from captain Maro Itoje and Welsh flanker Jac Morgan helped the Lions to stem the tide for a while, but a 50:22 kick gave the Pumas access into the Lions 22 and they forced Marcus Smith over his own line with another clever dink in behind before applying pressure with their carrying to earn a penalty for a 14-10 lead.
With just a minute left until the break, that appeared to be it for the first half but the Lions were sucker-punched as van der Merwe lost control of the ball in a carry and the Pumas pounced.
Back row Juan Martín Gonzalez scooped the ball up and launched the counter, with fullback Santiago Carreras calmly drawing last man Marcus Smith to send Albornoz streaking away under the posts before adding the conversion himself.
21-10 down, the Lions needed a strong start to the second half. They got it.
There was a freewheeling edge to their attack, with Tuipulotu breaking out of his own half down the right before classy Morgan and van der Merwe offloads. The Pumas were penalised as they scrambled, the Lions kicked to the corner, and an outstanding maul was on its way to the tryline before Mayco Vivas dropped it. Penalty try and yellow card.
The Lions showed their power to great effect as they made their numerical advanage count with their third try.
It was Genge who made the big linebreak in midfield off a clever lineout strike near the Pumas’ 10-metre line and though Marcus Smith could have sent van der Merwe over in the left corner, the Lions made it count as replacement scrum-half Tomos Williams cleverly found Beirne charging into a hole for the score.
Fin Smith’s conversion had the Lions 24-21 up but the Pumas weren’t going to simply fade out of the game. Instead, they produced another sublime attack finished by former Connacht man Santiago Cordero in the left corner.
It came from right wing Rodrigo Isgro winning another aerial contest over van der Merwe, then Albornoz stepped the onrushing Curry and fended Henry Pollock – just on the pitch – before offloading to send the Pumas surging upfield. Sub centre Joaquín Moro delivered a sumptuous grubber in behind for Cordero to win the race. Albornoz calmly slotted the extras for a 28-24 lead.
Farrell sent on Tadhg Furlong, Pierre Schoeman, Mack Hansen, and Elliot Daly in one batch of replacements with a quarter still to go but the Lions struggled for cohesion amidst more promising build-up play in the final quarter.
A botched lineout down in the Pumas’ 22 with eight minutes to go was a big moment and the Lions had another visit shortly after, only for Beirne – now acting as captain after Itoje’s departure – to get caught for a neck roll.
With the clock ticking into the red, a penalty saw Fin Smith kick down the left and into the 22 once more. It wasn’t to be. The Pumas earned one final turnover and celebrated their historic success.
Lions scorers:
Tries: Bundee Aki, Penalty try, Tadhg Beirne
Conversions: Fin Smith [2 from 2]
Penalties: Fin Smith [1 from 1]
Argentina scorers:
Tries: Ignacio Mendy, Tomás Albornoz, Santiago Cordero
Conversions: Tomás Albornoz [2 from 3]
Penalties: Tomás Albornoz [3 from 3]
LIONS: Marcus Smith; Tommy Freeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki (Elliot Daly ’60), Duhan van der Merwe (Mack Hansen ’60); Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell (Tomos Williams ’50); Ellis Genge (Pierre Schoeman ’60), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Rónan Kelleher ’50), Finlay Bealham (Tadhg Furlong ’60, HIA reversal ’81); Maro Itoje (captain) (Scott Cummings 72′), Tadhg Beirne; Tom Curry, Jac Morgan (Henry Pollock ’50), Ben Earl.
ARGENTINA: Santiago Carreras; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti (Matías Moroni ’56 (HIA – (Joaquín Moro ’61 to ’66)), Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy (Santiago Cordero ’46); Tomás Albornoz, Gonzalo García (Simón Benitez Cruz ’71); Mayco Vivas (yellow card ’46) (Boris Wenger ’67), Julian Montoya (captain) (Bautista Bernasconi ’80), Joel Sclavi (Francisco Coria Marchetti ’48); Franco Molina (Santiago Grondona ’60), Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martín Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo (Boris Wenger ’48 to ’56).
Referee: James Doleman [New Zealand].
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