Lions muted roar

Lions 25 – 25 Argentina

Congratulations to the Pumas for holding the British and Irish Lions to a draw in Cardiff this evening.

In an exciting end game Argentina were 25-22 up with 3 minutes of extra time gone – most spectators believed it was game over when the Lions lost possession. The Argentinians had had a superbly resolute defense which answered everything the Lions could throw against it, including some decent moves from the Irish contingent of Hickie and D'Arcy (despite his several dropped balls), a nice break from the English pretender to RoGo's throne, Wilkinson[1].

Despite the best efforts of the Lion's backs at the end of the 2nd, it was really a forwards game throughout, which suited the Puma's big pack just fine. The Lions went nowhere fast with their several lineout-to-maul movements on the Puma 5 yard line as they struggled to turn the 25-22 deficit around. After 6 minutes of extra time they had to finally concede that time had beaten them and they must turn to the reliable boot of Jonny to steal the draw – and in inimitable style, he did so. Beautiful kick for a left-footed guy too (I must admit to sometimes wishing he was Irish).

The Lions are left with much to think about. It's hard to know how much this game really mattered – it's a half and half mix of mid-week and Test teams, played at home (strange), and it's early days. The first tour match is still a long time away, on Saturday the 4th of June (FYI 8am Irish time, Sky Sports 1 I believe).

BBC Sport report

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