'Losing hurts' - Farrell's honest assessment following Los Pumas defeat

REACTION: British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell didn’t hold back after his side’s 24-28 defeat to Argentina in Dublin.

Farrell insisted he would demand an improved performance from his B&I Lions when they arrive in Australia

The Lions ‘ second-half fightback on Friday was cut short by Santiago Cordero’s match-winning try for the Pumas in the 59th minute.

Farrell’s squad, comprised of leading players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, travel to Australia on Saturday before facing the Perth-based Western Force a week later in the first of several warm-up games ahead of a three-Test series with the Wallabies.

Argentina, ranked fifth in the world, had already defeated France, New Zealand, Australia and world champions South Africa in the past 12 months, with the Pumas tough opponents for a ‘scratch’ Lions side playing their first match of the tour.

But Lions head coach Farrell, seconded to the combined side from his ‘day job’ as Ireland boss, refused to cite a lack of cohesion as the reason for his side’s error-strewn display in front of a sold-out Lansdowne Road Stadium.

“We made it a tough game,” he said. “Congratulations to Argentina, they thoroughly deserved to win the match.

“I’m sure that’s a big moment in Argentine rugby history.

“We had plenty of opportunities and we should have done better to convert them, but the whole story of the game is that we compounded too many errors.”

The former England international added: “I wouldn’t give familiarity as an excuse.

“We need to be better than that. The Lions are good players coming together.

“We won’t sugar-coat this. We need to be honest because if we’re not honest, how do we gain trust with each other?

“Losing hurts, especially in this jersey. We need to find the solutions pretty quickly and be honest with ourselves because some good has to come from this.”

Farrell, reflecting on what had gone wrong against the Pumas, said: “The amount of balls that we threw blindly either to the floor or to the opposition was a standout.

“The scraps on the floor always seemed to go to Argentina, so there was a bit more fight and hunger from them that we can’t accept.”

Maro Itoje criticised the Lions’ lack of precision as the lock’s first outing as their captain ended in the tourists’ first defeat by Argentina in eight matches.

“We gave ourselves numerous opportunities, but we weren’t accurate enough at times and weren’t consistent enough in piling pressure on Argentina,” he said.

Friday’s reverse was the first time the Lions had lost their opening tour match since 1971.

But that 11-15 defeat by Queensland in Brisbane was a prelude to one of the Lions’ most celebrated triumphs – a 2-1 Test series win over the All Blacks in New Zealand.