Argentina stun British and Irish Lions

MATCH REPORT: Argentina made a massive statement, recording a historic 28-24 win over the British and Irish Lions in Dublin on Friday.

It had been 20 years since the two teams took the field. In that 2005 encounter, they played to a 25-all draw.

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But this time in Dublin, Argentina recorded their first-ever victory over the Lions.

Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne both went over for the British and Irish Lions,  and they were also awarded a penalty try.

However, the visitors replied with three tries of their own, including one for flyhalf Tomas Albornoz, who finished with 18 points.

It was the first opening tour match loss since 1971, but the performance against the fifth-ranked side in the world will give coach Andy Farrell plenty of cause for hope as the team prepares to set off on Saturday for their three-Test tour of Australia.

Seventeen players were not considered by Farrell because of their presence in domestic competitions last weekend or, in the case of Toulouse’s Blair Kinghorn, this weekend.

In spite of that the Lions, a team drawn from the best of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, produced long stretches of effective and eye-catching rugby.

The Lions, however, were under pressure from the start as the Pumas went on the attack from the kick-off, Albornoz stroking over a penalty in the fifth minute.

The Lions then had a try ruled out when Luke Cowan-Dickie spilled the ball forwards as he reached for the line but Fin Smith levelled with a penalty.

The Pumas hit back straight away as wing Ignacio Mendy stepped in off his wing, wrong-footed Duhan van der Merwe and slid through for the try.

The Lions had a second try, this time from Sione Tuipulotu, ruled out before his centre partner Bundee Aki barged through for their opener. Fin Smith added the conversion to put them into the lead, 10-8.

The Lions continued to throw the ball around and take the game to the Argentinians but it was the visitors who looked the better-oiled machine.

Albornoz knocked over two more penalties to make it 14-10 as the clock ticked towards the red.

The Lions had time to restart and had a chance to regain the lead before the half-time whistle as the Pumas coughed up possession.

The Pumas, though, quickly retrieved it when Van der Merwe lost possession, allowing them to attack down the right with only fullback Marcus Smith to beat.

Albornoz skittered through under the posts for their second try of the half and added the conversion to take a 21-10 lead at the break.

The Lions began the second half strongly and picked up a penalty try when Puma prop Mayc Vivas came in from the side of a maul to prevent it going over the line, collecting a yellow card in the process.

Shortly after, the Lions were in front, a bullocking run by prop Ellis Genge producing chaos in the Argentine defence and allowing Irish lock Tadhg Beirne to crash over.

Just before the hour, the Pumas were back in front when Connacht’s Santiago Cordero beat Marcus Smith in a sprint to the line.

The Lions camped on the Argentine line, but Beirne gave away a soft penalty to allow the Pumas to clear their lines and claim a victory that left the Puma players in tears.

Moment of the match: Santiago Cordero’s try in the 58th minute. It proved to be the match winner. It was a class try, which included a missed tackle by Tom Curry,  amazing feet by Matias Moroni, and Cordero outpacing Marcus Smith in a foot race to score.

Man of the match: The nod goes to Argentina flyhalf Tomas Albornoz. The No.10 was in fine form. Aside from his one missed conversion, he converted two and slotted 3 penalties. He also scored a try and dictated proceedings.

Villian of the match: No villains, the game was played in good spirit.

The scorers:

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries: Aki, Penalty try, Beirne
Cons: Fin Smith 2
Pen: Fin Smith

For Argentina:
Tries: Mendy, Albornoz, Cordero
Cons: Albornoz 2
Pens: Albornoz 3

Yellow card: Mayco Vivas (Argentina, 45 – deliberately collapsing the maul)

Teams: 

British and Irish Lions: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Henry Pollock, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Elliot Daly, 23 Mack Hansen.

Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12, Justo Piccardo, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Marchetti Coria, 19 Santiago Grondona, 20 Joaquin Moro, 21 Simon Benitez Cruz, 22 Matias Moroni, 23 Santiago Cordero.

Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

*Additional Source: AFP