British And Irish Lions Player Ratings From Argentina Loss
British And Irish Lions Player Ratings From Argentina Loss
Andy Farrell’s Lions fell 28-25 to Argentina in a thrilling 2025 tour opener. Player ratings reveal who impressed—and who struggled—in the narrow defeat.
Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions got their 2025 campaign off to a poor start with a 28-24 loss to a highly impressive Argentina side at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Trailing 21-10 at halftime, the Lions worked their way back into the lead in the 53rd minute and appeared to be growing in confidence.
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Five minutes after scoring the go-ahead score, the Lions would be undone by a backfield mishap, which saw Santiago Cordero outpace the covering Marcus Smith.
Tomos Albornoz knocked over the conversion to put the Pumas more than a penalty ahead, which proved crucial as the Lions piled on the pressure in the closing minutes.
Here is how the Lions players fared in their first match of the tour:
1. Ellis Genge – 9
Dominating the highly experienced Joel Sclavi at scrum time and making a handful of significant carries, the England veteran was impervious.
Setting the benchmark for the rest of the Lions’ front-row players, Genge carried hard, made his tackles and had one supreme long-range burst that reminded everyone of his dynamism around the park.
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie – 7.5
Contributing to the Lions’ set-piece dominance in the opening half, the Sale Shark was solid at line-out time and played a major role in Genge’s dominance over Sclavi.
Pulling off a top-class turnover, having a handful of solid carries and rucking well, it was a strong first outing for Cowan-Dickie.
3. Finlay Bealham – 8
The Lions’ last-minute call-up was spectacular in his debut, mirroring his loosehead in dominating his opposite number.
Bealham worked over Mayco Vivas.
Given the uncertainty around the tighthead position coming into the tour, Bealham will have allayed any lingering fears.
For those not familiar with his performances for Ireland, Bealham has quietly been world-class for the past three seasons. If he continues this form, he could well be a shock test starter.
4. Maro Itoje – 5
Itoje was busy around the breakdown, solid in the line-out but not quite at his brilliant best.
It was a mixed first outing for the Lions’ skipper, which is understandable given how much of the squad responsibilities he is shouldering.
5. Tadhg Beirne – 7.5
One of the standout performers in the Lions pack, the Ireland lock came up with the big moments when the Lions needed him.
He will be kicking himself for the late neck roll that reversed a penalty that would’ve set up a great scrum or line-out on Pumas’ 5m line.
This aside, Beirne was immense with his try being a thing of beaut as he timed his run perfectly to go over untouched.
6. Tom Curry – 5.5
Started the fixture strong and got through plenty of work with 12 tackles, nine carries and a turnover.
Unlike his top-line performances, he could never quite find that key impact moment, which would disappoint him.
7. Jac Morgan – 4
Not the debut the Welsh skipper would’ve been hoping for, having featured for just 49 minutes.
His one key contribution was a turnover, which was a nice piece of work, albeit the referee blew the penalty particularly quickly.
No doubt his quality will shine as the tour progresses, but he missed an opportunity to lay down a marker.
8. Ben Earl – 5
Ultra busy making plenty of meters as he topped the carry charts with 18 for 56 meters and two offloads.
Defensively, he made his tackles with eight, but in a similar way to his England teammate Curry, the Saracens star didn’t quite have the game-changing moment he was chasing.
9. Alex Mitchell – 4.5
Some good, some bad, Mitchell’s kicking was not quite as effective as it had been all season for Northampton and England.
When kicking from the base, he routinely had a bit too much distance for his chasers, making life easy for the Argentine backfield. From the base, his passing was good, but his running game never quite got going.
10. Fin Smith – 5
Similar to his Saints’ teammate, Smith’s kicking game was not where it usually is, with his spirals misfiring and his cross-field kicks a tad off the mark.
With the ball in hand, his passing game was good, and he looked to be a constant threat with the ball in hand.
11. Duhan van der Merwe – 4
Outside of a few early runs, the Scottish winger had a tough first outing.
His defensive position exposed the Lions' backfield.
In the air, he couldn’t quite get to grips with the high balls, while his one-on-one tackling left a lot to be desired.
12. Bundee Aki – 7.5
Barreling over for the first Lions try of the tour, the Ireland veteran was a bright spark for the Lions back line.
Taking into account his danger as a runner, Argentina had to over-resource its defense of Aki, and he punished them with subtle passes that set those around him free.
13. Sione Tuipulotu – 5
Still working his way back to top form, the Scottish skipper looked a bit out of sorts early on in the contest.
Not quite getting his timing right in the unfamiliar position of 13, he had a few uncharacteristic errors that cost the Lions dearly, namely drops in try-scoring positions.
Shifting to inside center for the final 20 minutes saw a major uptick in his performance. He ended the contest with seven defenders beaten, a line break and 73 meters made.
This match confirmed he is firmly in a shootout with Aki for the 12 shirt, with the Lions possessing more natural 13s in Garry Ringrose and Huw Jones.
14. Tommy Freeman – 8
Exceptional from the off, the England winger was the Lions’ standout back as he topped the meters made with 84 from 15 carries.
Making two line breaks, beating eight defenders and looking the most likely Lion to break free, Freeman confirmed unequivocally that the 14 shirt is his to lose.
15. Marcus Smith – 5
A truly frustrating evening for the England playmaker, who was ultra busy, but did have some flashes of pure brilliance. He ultimately was brutally exposed by the Pumas' kicking game.
Unable to compete consistently in the air and getting caught out of position in the backfield highlighted why fly-half remains his best position.
The challenge for him will be whether he can work his way onto the bench as the backup 10 or even challenge for the starting position.
With both Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan in the squad, it is tough to envision Smith getting the nod in the 15 shirt against a potent Wallabies kicking game.
Replacements:
16. Ronan Kelleher -6
Looked sharp when he came on with half an hour to go. He found his marks at line-out time, had some good carries and scrummaged well.
17. Pierre Schoeman – 4
Lacking the subtle ball-playing ability of the man he replaced, Schoeman was caught in possession on a few occasions when he should’ve given the ball.
At scrum time, he was good, but not as dominant as Genge.
18. Tadhg Furlong – 4
Similar to Schoeman, the Ireland veteran didn’t bring much impact from the bench, which isn’t surprising given it was just his 10th game of the season and first for over a month.
19. Scott Cummings – N/A
Only featured for nine minutes, so not really enough time to rate fairly. He did win a late line-out, but he didn’t have any other noticeable contributions.
20. Henry Pollock – 4.5
Hyping up himself and his teammates as he came off the bench, the electric young backrow did not have the impact for which he hoped.
Missing a key tackle as Los Pumas raced away was a big black mark on his evening.
On the positive side of things, he had a nice carry on the left-hand side of the pitch, which made some good yards. He was always looking for work and clearly was well-marked by Los Pumas, thus opening a bit of space for those around him.
21. Tomos Williams – 7.5
Upping the tempo in a major way, the Welsh scrumhalf got through a mountain of work, making 55 passes in his 30-minute cameo (11 more than Mitchell).
His running threat was noticeable, with his only real blemish being an early miscommunication with Fin Smith that led to a charge down.
22. Elliot Daly – 7
Brought a level of composure to a previously frantic back line and crucially freed up Tuipulotu to get more involved.
His kicking game brought an added dimension to the Lions' attack, while his defense was solid.
Overall, he made a strong case to be on the bench as a versatile cover player.
23. Mack Hansen – 8
Immediately brought a level of creativity, which to that point, had been absent in the Lions back line with his mazy running, clever kicking game and ability to pass just before contact or ride a tackle and offload.
If there had been any doubts that he is firmly a live option for the Lions backfield, they were dispelled this evening.
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