Tom Wright Remains Cautious After Lions’ Defeat Against Argentina
The Australian fullback, Tom Wright, has downplayed the British & Irish Lions’ defeat to Argentina in their opening tour match.
The Lions arrived in Perth on Sunday to prepare for their first encounter in Australia against Western Force next weekend, looking to recover after falling 28-24 to the Pumas in Dublin.
I wouldn’t give it too much importance, it was an exciting game… there was a lot of running game.
Tom Wright
Wright, speaking from the Wallabies’ training camp in Sydney on Monday, also commented on the possible Lions lineup and the quality of the Argentinian team.
“Is that the team they might deploy? Maybe or maybe not, there were many important names that obviously didn’t play. The Argentinians were very good. I wouldn’t say the Lions played very badly. There’s also the fact that it’s a group of players trying to come together for the first time. I wouldn’t give it much importance. I thought both teams played very exciting football,” added Wright.Description: 0:53 The numbers behind Argentina’s historic victory over the Lions. Let’s take a look at Argentina’s historic 28-24 victory against the British & Irish Lions at the Aviva Stadium.
Wright anticipates a large number of high balls from the Lions during the three tests in July and August, but expects this will also generate opportunities.
“We saw] a lot of kicking disputed in the match against Argentina,” he added.
“[I’ll do] that work in the air, trying to gain space. Definitely something I’ll add more compared to Super Rugby, a kind of extras after training in our positional groups. But part of the game is that the over-kicked ball also brings exciting things to the game, opportunities to counterattack.”Description: The British and Irish Lions suffered a 28-24 defeat to Argentina in their opening tour match in Dublin on Friday. Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images
Wright, who was not included in the 2023 World Cup squad by Eddie Jones, missed the defeat to Fiji, which contributed to the Wallabies’ elimination in the group stage for the first time.
The 27-year-old player stated that the Wallabies are aware of the strength of the opposition they will face in Newcastle on July 6.
“The Fijians are always a strong team, obviously, we tested them with the Drua during the season, so we know how lethal they will be, with and without the ball,” he said.
“We have our eyes set on Newcastle, and that will be a really important appointment to propel us to what is obviously a strong Lions team in July.”
