Tom Curry insists The British & Irish Lions need to be more clinical in possession ahead of their first game in Australia this weekend.
The Lions were beaten 28-24 by Argentina in The 1888 Cup, at the Aviva Stadium and were marginally off with their off-loading and short passing, with the ball dropping to the floor several times.
Argentina, ranked fifth in the world, scored three tries en route to a famous win in an end-to-end thriller in Dublin that left the Lions frustrated.
Head Coach Andy Farrell said the performance fell short of where he expected them to be, before reiterating captain Maro Itoje’s message that there is no major cause for concern and the Lions will improve as the tour progresses.
Curry, who played 80 minutes at blindside flanker, agreed but called for some honest conversations after a night he labelled a ‘wake-up call’ as they look ahead to their first game Down Under against Western Force this weekend.
“The biggest point is that we need to be more clinical with the ball,” he said.
“The exciting thing is that we have got people in position, people are running, but we can’t score points if we are dropping it and giving it away that easily. That comes first and foremost.”
The Lions had two tries chalked off inside the first 15 minutes. Luke Cowan-Dickie lost control of the ball just as he went to ground it from the back of a rolling maul, before Sione Tuipulotu was brought back after a double knock-on, one from each team.
Bundee Aki scored the Lions’ first try of the summer with a trademark finish, where he beat two defenders, before two scores early in the second half, one a penalty try and the other a Tadhg Beirne walk-in after a brilliant Ellis Genge break, gave the Lions the lead.
But Santiago Cordero’s excellent finish, where he outsprinted covering full-back Marcus Smith to ground a Tomas Albornoz kick-through, won the game for the Pumas.
“I have been on these things before, and you can wait until Monday before you say this stuff, but you can get to the sixth week and still make the same excuse,” Curry added.
“Six weeks is not a long time, so we can’t make that excuse the whole way through [the tour]. We nipped that in the bud straight away. We need to take personal responsibility for our own performances and how excited we get on the ball.
“That is the really annoying thing, because on the flip side, it’s really exciting because we do have our hands on the ball and are in great spots.
“But we need to take personal responsibility when we have it.”
The Lions have now landed in Perth to start their Tour of Australia, and Farrell will have an almost-full squad to choose from, with only full-back Blair Kinghorn, who is with club Toulouse in the Top 14 finals, still to join.
Those who played in the Premiership and URC Finals were rested against Argentina, but Curry is happy with the way the squad has gelled.
"I feel like this group has taken so many steps off the field. I have not got a bad word to say about anyone,” he added.
"Everyone has been pulling in the right direction, especially the lads who came in this week, so when something goes against us, we have got to keep our chests up and crack on with each other.
"We have to have the tough conversations. I am not going to say it is going to be a party; we don't need that. But we have got to pull together and hit the ground running when it comes to training."