Aki And Beirne Contribute Tries But Lions Lose Out To Argentina

Ireland’s Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne scored tries in familiar surroundings, but the British & Irish Lions were beaten 28-24 by a Tomás Albornoz-inspired Argentina at the Aviva Stadium.

2025 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS TOUR – 1888 CUP MATCH:

Friday, June 20 –

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS 24 ARGENTINA 28, Aviva Stadium
Scorers: British & Irish Lions: Tries: Bundee Aki, Penalty try, Tadhg Beirne; Cons: Fin Smith 2, Pen try con; Pen: Fin Smith
Argentina: Tries: Ignacio Mendy, Tomás Albornoz, Santiago Cordero; Cons: Tomás Albornoz 2; Pens: Tomás Albornoz 3
HT: British & Irish Lions 10 Argentina 21

The teams shared six tries in an entertaining encounter in the Dublin sunshine, watched by a capacity crowd of 51,700, as the Lions played on Irish soil for the first time in their 137-year history.

2021 Lions tourists Aki and Beirne were joined in the starting XV by Finlay Bealham, who made his first appearance in the famous red jersey, and replacements Rónan Kelleher and Mack Hansen were two more of the hosts’ debutants.

Returning from a calf injury, Tadhg Furlong got 20 minutes under his belt ahead of the Lions’ departure for Perth tomorrow. Although it was not the result they wanted, there were still some good glimpses to take forward into the tour to Australia.

Player-of-the-match Albornoz kicked three penalties and landed a late try that stung the Lions, who were left trailing 21-10 at half-time after Ignacio Mendy and Aki had swapped earlier tries.

Andy Farrell’s men seized the momentum in the third quarter, gaining a penalty try from a lineout maul which also saw Mayco Vivas sin-binned. Beirne then touched down in the 52nd minute for a 24-21 turnaround.

However, the Pumas regained the lead thanks to a superb score from replacement Santiago Cordero, who spent the last two years at Connacht. Albornoz’s conversion gave him 18 points in all, and the Lions could not respond despite some late pressure.

Ranked fifth in the world, Argentina had quickly showed what they are capable of. Out-half Albornoz slotted over a close-range penalty after Mendy had threatened out wide during a fast-paced opening.

Luke Cowan-Dickie narrowly missed on an ideal response from the men in red, as the ball came out of the hooker’s grasp when he twisted his way over the try-line. Duhan van der Merwe’s initial break had opened up the defence before the maul opportunity.

Fin Smith, whose cross-field kick was well defended by Mendy, followed up on a Tom Curry turnover with the Lions’ opening points from the tee in the ninth minute.

Nonetheless, space soon opened up on the left again for the Felipe Contepomi’s side to strike. Santiago Carreras fed Mendy just outside the hosts’ 22, and he neatly cut inside the covering van der Merwe to make it 8-3.

Sione Tuipulotu had a try ruled out for a knock-on from Alex Mitchell, but his centre partner Aki scored soon after, crashing over through two defenders to reward some slick hands in the build-up. Fin Smith’s conversion split the teams.

The Pumas retook the lead in the 25th minute through Albornoz’s reliable left boot, and despite Bealham winning a scrum decision against Vivas, the Lions’ handling let them down in their efforts to create a second try.

Indeed, Contepomi’s charges had the stronger finish to the opening 40 minutes, with Joaquin Oviedo making a break through the middle, and some clever kicking, including a 50:22 kick from Santiago Carreras, preceding Albornoz’s third three-pointer.

A late Bealham turnover had the Lions hoping to hit back, but when the ball squirted loose following a tackle on van der Merwe, Juan Martin Gonzalez reacted quickest. He led a breathless breakaway down the right that saw Carreras release Albornoz to scamper in behind the posts.

Incisive running from Tuipulotu and van der Merwe increased the Lions’ attacking threat early on the resumption. Argentina suffered a double setback when a dominant Lions maul led to a penalty try and Vivas’ yellow card.

Beirne crossed from replacement Tomos Williams’ fizzing pass seven minutes later, the initial damage being done by Ellis Genge’s barnstorming run through the middle. The Lions bench was having the desired impact, with Kelleher throwing well into the lineout.

Now 24-21 in front, the Lions continued to gain ground through the impressive Tommy Freeman, but Argentina fired back on the hour mark with another top-class score from deep.

Rodrigo Isgro claimed an important high ball at the second attempt, and a dummying Albornoz sparked a lung-busting raid downfield, and it was Cordero – chasing down Matias Moroni’s inch-perfect kick – who supplied a textbook finish in the left corner.

Just when the Lions were making inroads after regrouping, a Tuipulotu pass was intercepted by Albornoz. They had a big maul opportunity on the 70-minute mark following an eye-catching Hansen surge, but Kelleher misfired at the lineout with an overthrow.

Although captain Juan Montoya conceded a penalty for kicking the ball out of Williams’ hands, Argentina defended the subsequent maul and then a close-in Lions penalty was reversed when Beirne was singled out for a neck roll.

The Pumas, now with three debutants on the pitch, defended manfully during the final minutes, as they moved within reach of another big scalp after overcoming New Zealand, Australia, and World champions South Africa last August and September.

Ultimately it was a hard-earned turnover from winger Isgro that sealed their first ever victory over the Lions at the eighth attempt, and silverware in the form of the 1888 Cup.

TIME LINE: 4 minutes – Argentina penalty: Tomás Albornoz – 0-3; 9 mins – British & Irish Lions penalty: Fin Smith – 3-3; 11 mins – Argentina try: Ignacio Mendy – 3-8; conversion: missed by Tomás Albornoz – 3-8; 18 mins – British & Irish Lions try: Bundee Aki – 8-8; conversion: Fin Smith – 10-8; 25 mins – Argentina penalty: Tomás Albornoz – 10-11; 39 mins – Argentina penalty: Tomás Albornoz – 10-14; 40 mins – Argentina try: Tomás Albornoz – 10-19; conversion: Tomás Albornoz – 10-21; Half-time – British & Irish Lions 10 Argentina 21; 45 mins – British & Irish Lions try: Penalty try & conversion – 17-21; Argentina yellow card: Mayco Vivas; 52 mins – British & Irish Lions try: Tadhg Beirne – 22-21; conversion: Fin Smith – 24-21; 58 mins – Argentina try: Santiago Cordero – 24-26; conversion: Tomás Albornoz – 24-28; Full-time – British & Irish Lions 24 Argentina 28

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: Marcus Smith (Harlequins/England); Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland); Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England); Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England), Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) (capt), Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England), Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales), Ben Earl (Saracens/England).

Replacements used: Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales) for Mitchell, Rónan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) for Cowan-Dickie, Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England) for Morgan (all 49 mins), Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) for Aki, Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) for Genge, Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) for Bealham, Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) for van der Merwe (all 59), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) for Itoje (71), Bealham for Furlong (80).

ARGENTINA: Santiago Carreras (Gloucester Rugby); Rodrigo Isgro (Harlequins), Lucio Cinti (Saracens), Justo Piccardo (Pampas XV), Ignacio Mendy (Benetton Rugby); Tomás Albornoz (Benetton Rugby), Gonzalo Garcia (Zebre Parma); Mayco Vivas (Gloucester Rugby), Julian Montoya (Leicester Tigers) (capt), Joel Sclavi (La Rochelle), Franco Molina (Exeter Chiefs), Pedro Rubiolo (Newcastle Falcons), Pablo Matera (MIE Honda Heat), Juan Martin Gonzalez (Saracens), Joaquin Oviedo (USA Perpignan).

Replacements used: Santiago Cordero (Connacht Rugby) for Mendy (44 mins), Francisco Coria Marchetti (CA Brive) for Sclavi (47), Boris Wenger (Dogos XV) for Oviedo (47-56), Matias Moroni (CA Brive) for Cinti (55), Santiago Grondona (Bristol Bears) for Molina (59), Joaquin Moro (Pampas XV) for Moroni (60), Cinti for Oviedo (65), Wenger for Vivas (66), Simon Benitez Cruz (Tarucas Rugby) for Garcia (70), Bautista Bernasconi (Benetton Rugby) for Montoya (80).

Referee: James Doleman (NZR)