British and Irish Lions vs Argentina: Lions must ‘set standard’ – Maro Itoje

British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje has said they must use Friday’s warm-up game against Argentina to “set the standard” ahead of their tour of Australia.

In a rare appearance on home soil, the Lions will face Los Pumas in Dublin to kick off their 2025 campaign.

On Wednesday, Andy Farrell selected his first team as Lions coach, with Itoje set to lead the team for the first time.

“I’m incredibly excited. It’s a tremendous opportunity for myself and the whole team,” Itoje told a news conference.

“This is our first opportunity to set the standard we want to [have]… Set the kind of team we want to be and give our first account of ourselves.”

“We’ve had just under two weeks of great prep and we’re excited to get going.”

Despite some players recovering from minor injuries or being rested after playing in URC and Premiership finals last week, Farrell has named a star-studded lineup which features Marcus Smith at fullback and Henry Pollock on the bench.

Farrell said he has so many quality players at his disposal, it’s been hard to imagine what his best XV looks like.

“I did an exercise a couple of weeks ago and I’ve done it about five times since of what you think that your Test side could be and you actually can’t even go there, because there’s such good competition,” Farrell said.

“That’s how it should be. The exciting thing about Friday night is these guys get to show their teammates that are sat in the stands what they’re all about.

“Ultimately, what happens on these tours, these guys all they’re trying to do is gain respect off one another.”

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