B&I Lions captain Maro Itoje gives evaluation after Dublin wake-up call
REACTION: British & Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje brushed off Friday’s defeat against Argentina in Dublin, saying his side will “live, learn and get better”.
The Lions, who leave for a three-Test tour of Australia on Saturday, were outplayed in the first half and, after a second-half resurgence, went down 24-28.
Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne both went over the Pumas line and the Lions were also awarded a penalty try but 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 there was much to build on as the team sets off on Saturday for Australia.
Seventeen players were not considered by coach Andy Farrell because of their presence in domestic competitions last weekend or, in the case of Toulouse’s Blair Kinghorn, this weekend.
“We weren’t as consistent as we would have liked to be,” Itoje told Sky Sports.
“We only showed glimmers of what we can do. When we were on it, we looked good; we just need to do it more consistently.
“We want to be more aggressive, but we are building. It wasn’t quite that, we will live, learn and get better.”
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Not the result we wanted, but a historic night in Dublin.
Thank you to the incredible fans who came to see us tonight, and to all of you who tuned in to support us from around the world 🙏🦁#Lions2025 pic.twitter.com/GcPTA1Pwnp
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 20, 2025
The Lions, who come together every four years as a team drawn from the best players in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, chose to play Argentina, ranked fifth in the world, rather than a scratch team like the Barbarians to give themselves a stern test ahead of Australia.
“Argentina showed us where we are lacking,” said Itoje.
“I am happy we had a hard-fought game. We live and learn. This is only match one.”
Farrell admitted that his side, who have only been together a short time, have much to do before their next game against Western Force in Perth on June 28.
“You can’t win a Test with that error rate,” he said.
“We lost enough balls in that game for a full tour, throwing balls that weren’t on.
“There was good and bad throughout. We were just a little bit off I take responsibility for that.
“I hope we are better off for that. We will keep building for the Test matches.”
