The British and Irish Lions suffered a defeat in their inaugural match of the year, falling 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin.
As expected, some initial problems arose that Andy Farrell will seek to address this week, before his first match in Australia against the Western Force in Perth next Saturday.
Highlights of the meeting
Here are three key takeaways from the opening match:
1. Tommy Freeman and Jac Morgan impress
The match gave the players the opportunity to make a good first impression on Andy Farrell, and Tommy Freeman and Jac Morgan succeeded.
From the start, Freeman looked dangerous with the ball in his hands. After a great Six Nations with England and a good campaign with Northampton, Freeman demonstrated his talent from the first moment with the Lions. Unlike others, he didn’t try to force it and remained calm throughout the match. Defenders know that he can beat them with a step or use his passing range to enable his teammates.
Morgan, one of the only two Welsh players in the team along with Tomos Williams, carried his country’s flag with pride. He was strong in contesting the ball and ran well, proving to be a problem for the Argentinian defenders. He is expected to work hard in every match and is a great leader. The third line is a highly competitive area in the team, but Morgan made a strong first impression.2. Communication is keyThe Lions’ main frustration will lie in the fact that, when they managed to deploy their game, they looked really good. They just couldn’t sustain it.
Freeman, Duhan van der Merwe and Sione Tuipulotu, in particular, seemed threatening with most of their interventions. The group as a whole did not do so with the necessary frequency nor did they exert enough pressure on Argentina.
An ambitious pass, a loose possession or one pass too many instead of building pressure through phases undid all the good work. You have to earn the right to attack. The good news is that all these things are under your control. It only takes time and good communication.
Farrell will have liked the fluid rugby he saw in glimpses, but he will remind his team that they are a new group and that cohesion cannot be rushed too much.3. The Lions’ formation needs to be resolved, and quickly!Formations, especially with a new group, can be difficult to master. They need practice.
Both hookers, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ronan Kelleher, struggled, losing multiple throws.
Both are experienced players, so they would be expected to do well, but it’s a key area they need to improve before facing the Wallabies.
Joe Schmidt’s knowledge of the Lions players, especially the Irish contingent, will be deep and he will undoubtedly already be looking for areas where he can find weaknesses and expose them. Set-piece simply cannot become a persistent problem for this team, as it is a key area in modern rugby. They need to show that they have fixed it as soon as possible, which will happen against the Western Force next week.
