The British and Irish Lions fell to a 28-24 defeat against Argentina on Friday night in Dublin. However, there were plenty of positives to take away from the overall performance as the Lions travel south to kick things off down under.
Starting XV
1.Ellis Genge - 9
The Bristol prop was one of the best players on the pitch. He dominated Sclavi at the scrum and was a difference-maker with his big carries through the middle.
2.Luke Cowan-Dickie - 5
Cowan-DIckie struggled to make an impression on this game. He was also a key part of a line-out that struggled to function, only winning 77% of their own throw-ins.
3.Finlay Bealham - 7
Bealham was unlucky not to make the original squad and proved that he deserved to be here with a solid showing on Friday night. He was part of a strong scrum and was a reliable presence throughout the game.
4.Maro Itoje(C) - 7
The Lions captain didn't take over the game, but he was a constant disrupter and an overall positive influence on his team.
5.Tadhg Beirne - 6.5
Beirne had a decent game but his most impactful contribution was an unfortunate one. He was penalised for a neck roll in the final few minutes when the Lions were deep inside the Argentinian 22 which then lead to the visitors clearing their lines and taking the game away from the Lions. He did have a good game otherwise and scored a try in the second half.
6.Tom Curry - 6
This isn't necessarily Curry's fault - he had a decent game and won a couple of turnovers but him playing at 6 was part of the reason why the line-out was unsuccessful.
7.Jac Morgan - 7
Morgan, like Curry, had a solid game but ultimately lost the back-row battle to the Argentine trio.
8.Ben Earl - 6
He was industrious throughout but couldn't force any real breakthroughs.
9.Alex Mitchell - 6.5
Kept up a good pace throughout the game. He was innovative and occasionally out of time with his teammates but that will improve as their familiarity increases.
10.Fin Smith - 7
He had some mixed moments but led the attack well and kept control of the game. He seems to be seamlessly transitioning to the highest level of the game.
11.Duhan Van der Merwe - 6
Dangerous in attack as always but made some costly errors. He was beaten too easily in a "1v1" for an early Argentina try before fumbling a ball whilst on the ground that ultimately caused Argentina to score a try out of nowhere on the brink of half time.
12.Bundee Aki - 7.5
He scored an impressive try with some ingenuity to hold onto the ball under pressure rather than throwing a scripted, but risky, pass before out-muscling 3 defenders to go over. In a back line that was trying to be expansive and making some mistakes, his ability to simply take the ball and make metres going straight forward kept his side on the front foot.
13.Sione Tuipulotu - 6.5
He had a promising game and the partnership with Aki looks exciting. He sometimes forced things a little bit too much but I think that will improve as everyone gets used to each other's style of play. It was also good to see that he and Aki didn't compete for the same spots and actually complemented each other very well despite having similar styles of play and playing the same position most of the time.
14.Tommy Freeman - 8
He could be criticised for some defensive frailties, but those seemed more structural and causec by players adapting to a new system rather than individual errors on his part. In attack, he was a constant threat and combined well with Van rr Merwe in the first half when drifting across from the right wing.
15.Marcus Smith - 6
Smith is clearly not a fullback at this level. He performed admirably but had very limited attacking opportunities and thus found himself having to play like a traditional fullback which doesn't suit him at all.
Bench
16.Ronan Kelleher - 7
His line-out throwing, whilst not perfect, provided the team with a much more stable set-piece than it had before he entered the game.
17.Pierre Schoeman - 7
He maintained Genge's scrum dominance and brought a physical edge to the closing minutes for the Lions.
18.Tadhg Furlong - 6
Didn't make much of an impact but it was just important for him to get some minutes into his legs and emerge healthy. With that in mind, it was a successful day for Furlong.
19.Scott Cumming - 6
Was not given enough time to make a legitimate impact on the game.
20.Henry Pollock - 6
Brought energy to the team in the closing stages but couldn't quite take charge of proceedings in the crucial moments.
21.Tomos Williams - 7
Provided a spark when he came on but couldn't lead the team to victory
22.Elliot Daly - 7.5
You could immediately tell that this is his third Lions tour. He slotted in seamlessly and brought more balance to the team.
23.Mack Hansen - 6
He looked pretty good when he came on but did't have any outstanding moments to earn him a higher rating
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