Lions suffer 54-year first in defeat to Argentina on mixed night for Scots as one man impresses

The British and Irish Lions lost an opening match for the first time in 54 years and it would be hard to argue that Argentina did not deserve their win in Dublin.

They mixed skill and doggedness and were no respecter of their hosts’ fancy reputations as they came from behind at the mid point of the second half to emerge victorious through Santiago Cordero’s try, their third of the night. The 28-24 victory meant it was the Pumas who hoisted the 1888 Cup at the Aviva Stadium as the Lions went away to lick their wounds and pack their bags for Australia.

The tour begins in earnest next Saturday in Perth but this preliminary skirmish would have given Andy Farrell plenty to think about on the long flight south. The head coach couldn’t help but be impressed by Sione Tuipulotu who marked his first appearance in the famous red jersey with an all-action performance which saw him involved in most of the Lions’ best moments.

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Duhan van der Merwe, his Scotland team-mate, had a less satisfactory evening and was guilty of losing possession at a crucial juncture just before half-time which led to an Argentina try for Tomas Albornoz, their outstanding fly-half. Van der Merwe had some dangerous moments during his 65 minutes but, worryingly he was seen with ice on his troublesome ankle after going off.

Scotland forwards Pierre Schoeman and Scott Cummings came off the bench and the former had some trademark big carries. Cummings, who only got nine minutes, was busy enough.

Ignacio Mendy had scored Argentina’s first try and they led 21-10 at the break. But the Lions, who also scored three tries, through Bundee Aki in the first half and a penalty try and Tadhg Beirne in the second, got their noses in front to lead 24-21 before Cordero’s clincher.

There had been pre-match grumblings about Argentina being weakened by the absence of many of their French-based players but they made the brighter start. The pressure was immediately on the Lions who went offside. The Pumas were happy to take the points and Albornoz slotted the penalty.

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We got our first glance of van der Merwe soon after as he dummied and cut inside before being held up in the Argentina 22. The Lions had got themselves into a good position and thought they scored the game’s first try only for Luke Cowan-Dickie not to ground the ball after breaking off from a lineout maul.

Fin Smith restored parity with a penalty after 10 minutes but Argentina’s response was immediate and emphatic. Santiago Carreras delayed his pass perfectly to play in Mendy who cut back inside to score.

Tuipulotu tried to drag the Lions back into it but his try was chalked off. Both sides had knocked on in the build-up but Farrell’s side weren’t to be denied for long and Tuipulotu was a key contributor. The Glasgow centre popped the ball to Fin Smith who shipped it on to Aki. The Ireland centre powered over the line, taking three Pumas with him. It was a strong, strong finish and Fin Smith’s conversion put the Lions 10-8 ahead.

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That was as good as it got in the first half for the composite side. Argentina’s kicking game was on point and the Lions were finding it difficult to click. Albornoz added two more penalties, the last one just before half-time. The Lions stole the ball from the restart and it was shipped wide to van der Merwe but the Edinburgh man coughed up possession and Argentina broke away and scored, Albornoz finishing off the move and then converting his own try to put the Pumas 21-10 up at half-time.

You have to go back to 1971 for the last time the Lions lost their opening game and they came out in the second half with a determination to avoid a repeat of that 54-year-old anomaly against Queensland in Brisbane. They scored two tries in the opening 13 minutes after the interval. Tuipulotu made a 40-metre break to move the Lions into the danger zone and they won a penalty which they kicked to the corner. Cowan-Dickie was held up on the line but not legally and the penalty try was awarded.

The Pumas’ lead was down to four points and it was wiped out completely by Beirne’s try, the lock being played in by Tomos Williams after Tuipulotu had again made good headway down the left. Fin Smith’s conversion made it 24-21 to the Lions but the Pumas weren’t done. They were playing with an aggressive intensity which was forcing mistakes form their opponents and the capitalised once again.

Van der Merwe lost an aerial battle against Rodrigo Isgro and then Henry Pollock, a Lions replacement, missed a tackle. Albornoz took full advantage, threading through a grubber, and Cordero outpaced Marcus Smith to score in the corner. Albornoz landed the conversion to put Argentina 28-24 up.