British & Irish Lions news: Player watch – Ellis Genge shines, Marcus Smith struggles vs Argentina

The British & Irish Lions fell to a narrow defeat against Argentina in Dublin last week as Andy Farrell got a first look at his squad in Test-match conditions ahead of the tour to Australia.

Now, with the warm-up out of the way, attention turns to official proceedings Down Under, starting with an intriguing clash against the Western Force in Perth.

Here, Sports News Blitz writer Jacob Garrett takes a look at three players who benefitted from the loss at the Aviva and one who did not.

Ellis Genge

Ellis Genge was outstanding in Dublin, scrumming well and setting up an excellent try for his team thanks to a denting carry.

With three athletic opensides – Ben Earl, Jac Morgan, and Tom Curry – selected in the back three, the job of carrying into holes and generating pace on the ball fell to the loosehead, and Genge, for his part, performed the role perfectly.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how Farrell approaches the battle for the number one shirt between the Englishman and Andrew Porter, who is yet to don the famous red shirt this year.

READ MORE: British & Irish Lions news: Andy Farrell’s disjointed team beaten by Argentina in Dublin warm-up

Jack Conan

Jack Conan is an interesting discussion point here despite not playing in Dublin, because if anything his absence saw his stock rise.

As mentioned, Farrell selected an athletic trio in the back row, possibly on account of them not being involved in any domestic finals, and the resulting combination of pace and dynamism, although effective, lacked the out-and-out dent provided by an eight in the style of Conan or the injured Caelan Doris.

That ability to generate front-foot ball from slow-paced attack is paramount for creating pressure, and such a style of play was clearly missed in Conan’s absence.

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Tomos Williams

Tomos Williams was excellent in the 21 shirt against Los Pumas, firmly bringing his Premiership Player of the Year form for Gloucester into the Lions arena.

The Welshman provided fast-paced ball in a manner that was distinctly missing prior to his introduction, while his mix of consistency, flair, and ability to pick out the perfect pass helped Farrell’s charges to no end.

And with Jamison Gibson-Park basically a nailed-on starter in the nine shirt, the replacement battle between Alex Mitchell and Williams is shaping up to be a compelling one, especially as the Argentina game probably saw the latter put his nose in front.

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Marcus Smith

It was a relatively poor showing at the Aviva from Marcus Smith, who continues to find his feet in the 15 shirt.

In particular, his defence in the backfield was sub-par and his decision-making was nowhere near assertive enough when Los Pumas found space on the edges, leading to both Lions wingers not being able to make clear choices on their own.

However, it was the Harlequin’s attacking acumen that was most concerning as he consistently looked to overplay and often stepped inside when there was clear space on the outside.

He did at least look decent in the role of second ball-player, relieving some of the pressure on Fin Smith and allowing the Northampton Saints star to play passes that manipulate space.

Ultimately, though, Smith’s chances of retaining his place in Farrell’s team depend entirely on how he develops on tour, starting with the game against the Western Force.

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