Lions lose to Argentina: No time to panic but expect some close battles

It’s more than 50 years since the British & Irish Lions opened their account with a defeat, yet the reaction following their 28-24 reverse to Argentina in Dublin on Friday night has been far from negative compared to other years.

In 2005 the Lions could only draw with a second-string Pumas side, while in 2009 and 2017 scratchy wins against low-grade teams in South Africa and New Zealand were met with dismay.

This time onlookers have been quick to point out that a Lions group who had been together for only two weeks were taking on the team ranked fifth in the world, and that the glimpses of ambition outweighed the familiar complaints about a lack of cohesion and connection.

Friday’s result made it five times in six opening matches that the Lions have failed to cover the handicap – they were 18-point favourites in Dublin.

BBC pundit Chris Jones gleefully pointed out that the match odds had been “baffling”, but it was far from after-timing – in a pre-match podcast he had questioned how this Pumas team could be 7-1 to win the match.

The handicap line is broadly the same for Saturday’s first tour match against the Western Force in Perth while the Lions remain 4-11 to win the three-Test series against Australia and they give up a seven-point handicap in the first Test in Brisbane on July 19.

That’s just four weeks and five games on from the Pumas defeat, but the calm response and lack of market movement underlines that the team are expected to move up a few gears.

Almost all the Leinster players in the squad were held back having played in the URC final the previous Saturday, and it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see the Irish province making up a large part of the Test team.

An all-Leinster front row of Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter is a distinct possibility, while back-row forward Jack Conan, scrum-half Jamison Gibson Park, centre Garry Ringrose and winger James Lowe have huge claims.

Add Finn Russell at fly-half and maybe Blair Kinghorn at full-back, both also unavailable against Argentina, and there’s a whole new side ready to take on the Wallabies.

What the Pumas game perhaps pointed out more than anything is how tight the margins are likely to be again at the top end. Argentina won by four points in a game that was scoreless for the final 20 minutes, while in each of the last four Test series two of the three matches have finished with winning margins of no more than five, including a draw with New Zealand in 2017.

There may be some blowouts on the way in the coming weeks, but things are building to another fascinating Test series.

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