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Bundee Aki admits his British and Irish Lions partnership with Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu simply ‘has to get better’ if it’s to survive the rigours of an Australian tour.
The muscular duo failed to sparkle in last Friday’s opening defeat to Argentina in Dublin, and it remains to be seen if head coach Andy Farrell will try the midfield combination again.
Tuipulotu was operating out of position at outside centre and his performance suffered as a result. While there were encouraging signs for the Lions in attack, key passes did not stick on numerous occasions, and Farrell later lamented an error-strewn performance by his team in their first match of the campaign.
Aki confessed that it was ‘frustrating’ he did not ‘connect well’ with his fellow centre.
‘We all know how Sione is as a player, he’s class’ said New Zealand-born Ireland star Aki, who scored the Lions’ opening try in the first half.
‘The frustrating thing for me was I wasn’t able to connect well with him. He’s an unbelievable player and there’s no excuse, we’ve got to get better as a partnership going forward.’
Bundee Aki says he and Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu must get better as a partnership
Fin Smith, Tuipulotu and Aki were in the Lions team who lost to Argentina in Dublin on Friday
Scotland's Finn Russell signs autographs after he and his Lions team-mates arrive in Perth
Aki believes that individual combinations can only improve as the tour of Australia gathers pace.
‘He (Tuipulotu) speaks out loud, which is what we need, him being himself and I just feed off him and he feeds off me,’ said Aki.
‘The more we grow as a partnership, the better it is for the group.’
It’s thought that Farrell might prefer to consider Tuipulotu and Aki as either-or options at 12, rather than as a double act.
Tuipulotu and Aki regularly play as inside centres, while Huw Jones, Garry Ringrose and Elliot Daly are all more used to wearing the 13 jersey.
Australia-born Tuipulotu has an established partnership with Jones for Glasgow Warriors and Scotland, while Aki and Ringrose know each other well from Irish sides.
Aki said: ‘Whoever it is, Garry, Huw, Elliot, as a unit we’ve got to make sure we gel together and get that cohesiveness fairly quick because we need to be better.’
The Lions were greeted by supporters on their arrival at Perth Airport today, where England sensation Henry Pollock had the duty of carrying BIL the lion teddy as the squad’s youngest player.
But the squad touched down with a warning from two of Pollock’s England team-mates ringing in their ears. Tom Curry and Fin Smith were both less than impressed after the defeat by Argentina, with Curry admitting the loss served as a major wake-up call.
‘We need to take responsibility for our performances,’ he said. ‘We can’t score points if we’re giving the ball away easily. We must have tough conversations.
Smith, one of 14 Lions debutants against the Pumas, said he was ‘gutted’ and ‘pretty deflated’.
‘There is a lot to get better at,’ he said. ‘The main thing is how quickly we can respond and stop feeling sorry for ourselves.’
The Lions’ first game Down Under is against the Western Force on Saturday.
