Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Bundee Aki with fans in Perth.Dan Sheridan/INPHO FreeOn Tour 'We need to be better' - The Lions land in Australia eager to get rolling Andy Farrell’s men touched down in Perth today and face the Western Force next weekend. 6.02pm, 22 Jun 2025 Share options THE LIONS HAVE landed in Australia and are determined to get properly up and running after Saturday’s sloppy defeat to Argentina. Andy Farrell’s men arrived in Perth today after a stopover in Doha Airport and will begin to acclimatise ahead of Saturday’s second warm-up match against the Western Force. The tourists were met by fans at Perth Airport, signing autographs and posing for selfies as they got an early taste of the reception they will get Down Under. Speaking upon arrival, Farrell said that it’s still unclear whether Irish duo Jamison Gibson-Park [glute] and Hugo Keenan [calf] will recover from injury to face the Force this weekend, but Scotland centre Huw Jones will be available. The Lions were beaten 28-24 by an impressive Argentina side in Dublin before their departure and Farrell was frustrated by their repeated forced passes and offloads, as well as a poor lineout showing and a lack of energy at key moments. His players were singing off the same hymn sheet post-match at the Aviva Stadium, with flanker Tom Curry still fuming with the performance when he spoke to the media. Out-half Fin Smith, normally a talkative interviewee, was uncharacteristically short in his answers as his disappointment shone through. No one in Lions camp was willing to make excuses for the disappointing elements of the display. Advertisement Jamison Gibson-Park with Lions fans.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO “We just need to be better,” said Curry, who was also a Lions tourist in 2021. “There should never be a reason. We just need to step up. “It’s an opportunity gone. Look at that set piece at the end [when the Lions botched a lineout in Argentina's 22] – there is a moment gone. “We let the ball go and that is a moment gone. As an individual, that is OK but as a collective you let big moments like that go and that is what you get.” Curry said it’s essential that the Lions quickly find a more clinical edge. “The exciting thing is we have got people in position, people are running, people are there, but f**k we can’t score points if we are dropping it and giving it away that easily,” said the English back row. Curry put his hand up for the errors he made in the second half, a knock-on and a couple of forced passes, and stressed that the Lions don’t have a lot of time to get these things right. Mack Hansen before the Lions flew out from Dublin.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO They have five more warm-up games before the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on 19 July. Curry doesn’t think there is time to sugar-coat the performance against Argentina. “We have to be honest, we can’t take it too personally,” he said. “This is the thing with this sport and this tour – it comes and goes so quickly. You’ve got to make the most of it, every meeting and every session. “Before you know it, we’ll be playing in Australia so we can’t let moments pass us by. We’ve got to fully take it on the chin, have tough conversations, but also do as we say. We can’t just keep saying it and not doing it.” Lions boss Andy Farrell.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Smith followed his English team-mate into the media room at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday and he certainly wasn’t trying to dress things up. “Gutted, pretty deflated,” said Smith. “Probably not how I saw my first Lions cap going. I’m sure once I take the emotion out of it, the sun will come up tomorrow and we’ll review it. Hopefully we can take stuff out of it but yeah, incredibly disappointing.” “I’m sure it’s not the first time the Lions have not played particularly well in their first outing. 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.” Farrell will expect his players to have moved past the frustration and deflation of Saturday night by now as they settle into their base in Perth. Related Reads 'It's honestly unbelievable' - Aki blown away by Lions support in Dublin Laughs, tears and frustration as Farrell settles into unique demands of Lions job They will be formally welcomed to Australia on Monday at Kings Park and Botanic Garden in Perth before getting back into training and naming their team to face the Force on Thursday. In reality, it will be a completely different team for Saturday’s clash with the Force, but the Lions need to park the Argentina defeat and channel their frustration in the right way. Four days after the Force game, they will face the Reds in Brisbane, so things are about to move up a gear on the road in Australia. “Faz has already said that – no moping about, no sulking,” said Smith. “We need to get back on the horse straight away and have conversations that are going to make us better. 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