Lions should take positive from 'clunky' Pumas defent

Andy Farrell was in no mood for excuses.

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

Having just watched his British and Irish Lions suffer defeat to Argentina in his first game in charge, the head coach was given every opportunity to equivocate the result or palliate the performance. The gathered media offered him plenty of chances to blame a lack of time together or the familiar first-game struggles of past tours. That he did not do so reflects a demand for the high standards he feels the Lions should always set.

"We have to say it how it is," Farrell stressed as he took exception to a gentle enquiry about whether it was good to have got this game out of the way. "Losing hurts, especially in this jersey. We need to find solutions pretty quickly and be honest with ourselves because some good has to come from this." Such declarative language was perhaps a surprise. There was little outside expectation on the Lions to immediately produce something resembling their best and yet Farrell's tone was striking and strict; he felt that they, and by extension he, had not given the best account of themselves in a first fixture in Dublin.

It feels a tough analysis of a performance that probably contained as much good as bad. It must be remembered that they were playing an Argentina side ranked fifth in the world, a nation of increasing consistency, depth and threat who emerged as deserved winners. The Pumas, too, had limited preparation time but the cohesion they showed reflected a national team that have grown together, the sharpness of their strikes in transition contrasting particularly with their hosts.