DUBLIN — Tom Curry stated that the players of the British & Irish Lions must take personal responsibility following their 28-24 loss to Argentina. He mentioned that the team needs to have some “tough conversations” to understand why they didn’t perform well on Friday in Dublin.
Curry played in the back row with his England teammate Ben Earl and Wales’ Jac Morgan. Despite having several potential Test starters, Argentina took advantage of the Lions’ mistakes to secure a notable victory.
This loss highlighted the challenge that Andy Farrell faces as he aims to develop the tourists into a team ready to compete against the Wallabies in four weeks.
Curry showed clear signs of frustration after the game while reflecting on the loss. He mentioned that the main takeaway from the match is that the Lions must be more “clinical with the ball.” He also noted that they need to have some “tough conversations” about why they didn’t perform well in front of a packed Aviva Stadium on Friday.
“Yeah, it’s a missed opportunity,” Curry said. “I’ve faced these situations before, and we need to come together tighter; that’s the only way to move forward. I believe this group has made great progress off the field. I have nothing negative to say about anyone.
Everyone is working hard in the right direction, but we must have some difficult talks.
“We need to be straightforward. We can’t take things too personally. That’s how this sport and this tour operate; they can change in an instant. We have to seize every chance—every meeting and training session.
Before we know it, we’ll be playing in Australia, so we can’t let opportunities slip away. We need to accept challenges head-on, engage in tough discussions, and also follow through on our promises. We can’t keep talking without taking action.”
When asked if the Lions were having trouble adapting to a new system, Curry responded, “I’ve been in situations like this before, and you can wait until Monday to talk about it. But even by the sixth week, you can’t keep using that excuse. Six weeks isn’t a long time, so we can’t rely on that reason for our struggles. We addressed it right away.
That’s not an acceptable excuse; we must take personal responsibility for how we perform.”
The Lions traveled to Australia on Saturday and arrived in Perth Sunday night. Curry thought about rewatching their loss to the Pumas but decided instead to watch “The Office.” While he analyzed the defeat against Argentina, his frustration was evident.
However, he did find some positives and felt he worked well with fellow flanker Morgan.
“It was good; there were still times when we should be closer to the ball,” Curry said. “There were instances where I connected with Jac during attacks and defense, which was really exciting and something I enjoyed.
I believe one of us needs to stay near the ball more often, but that will improve with (A) teamwork and (B) developing that instinct over time. We need to grow in that area faster. It was a solid start.”
Up next for the Lions are the Western Force in Perth on June 28. Andy Farrell will likely rotate the squad again for that match as he tests out new combinations.
Fin Smith was at fly-half for the Lions against the Pumas on Friday and he said they will address their shortcomings with some urgency as they look to build towards the Test series with the Wallabies.
“I’m sure it’s not the first time the Lions have not played particularly well in their first outing,” Fin Smith said. “The main thing is how quickly we can respond and how quickly we can stop feeling sorry for ourselves. We need to get back on the training pitch and get better as quickly as possible.”
