Easterby identifies B&I Lions' shortfall

SPOTLIGHT: British and Irish Lions assistant coach Simon Easterby urged his players on Monday to get on the “same page” to build cohesion ahead of a highly anticipated nine-game tour in Australia.

The Lions are strong favourites in the three-match Test series against the Wallabies, starting in Brisbane on July 19.

But they arrived in Perth under pressure after a 24-28 defeat at the hands of Argentina in a lacklustre send-off last Friday in Dublin.

The Lions’ lack of familiarity was evident in an error-strewn performance marked by sloppy handling and vulnerability in the air.

Head coach Andy Farrell was scathing of his side in the aftermath and put the team on notice.

The Lions will start their first Australian tour since 2013 against a Nic White-led Western Force on Saturday, in front of more than 40,000 fans at Perth Stadium.

There will be four more matches ahead of the series-opening Test.

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The Lions, who landed in Perth on Sunday, spent their first day on tour “stretching the legs” and reviewing what went wrong against the polished Pumas.

“We probably just didn’t quite impose ourselves [against Argentina] as much as we would have liked,” former Ireland captain Easterby told reporters in Perth.

“It just takes a little bit of time to build cohesion, different combinations,” he added.

“We’ve had some pretty good time together, but we know that we’re going to have to fix things very quickly and move on.”

The Lions will be using the build-up to iron out notable defensive issues in Dublin, where Argentina’s fleet-footed attack ran rampant.

“It’s important that the team has a clear understanding of how we want to defend as a Lions team,” said Easterby, who managed Ireland in Farrell’s absence during the Six Nations earlier this year.

“So we need to make sure that we allow those players to express themselves defensively within a system that allows them to have a framework,” he added.

The Lions are already facing injury concerns with the Ireland duo of Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan in doubt to play the Force.

Scrumhalf Gibson-Park tweaked his glute in the United Rugby Championship semifinal earlier in the month, while Leinster teammate Keenan suffered a calf strain in May.

There has been great fanfare for the Lions since they arrived in Perth as they seek a second tour victory in the last three decades to sit alongside their famous triumph in Australia 12 years ago.

“It is a special place. Looking forward to the weekend,” Easterby said.