Full-back Geordan Murphy knows the British & Irish Lions will not travel to New Zealand in the buoyant mood expected following their 25-25 draw against Argentina.
It took a Jonny Wilkinson penalty deep into injury time to secure a draw for Sir Clive Woodward’s men and Murphy admitted his side’s shortcomings, although he took solace from the second-half fightback.
"It was disappointing because we didn’t really play the way we wanted to. Granted we only had three or four sessions together, but we still had a gameplan. The Argentineans spoiled it and didn’t let us play," said the 27-year-old.
"We turned over a lot of ball in the contact area – they were excellent at poaching in midfield. There was nothing we could do about it. We were trying to do things through three or four phases but only got through one or two.
"On occasions when we got a little bit of loose ball or were in open space we looked dangerous. But on the whole they shut us down at source. They concentrated on winning penalties and the rolling maul.
"But maybe we got a little bit ahead of ourselves. We should have concentrated on winning the ball. It’s difficult because it’s a new team but we controlled the game in the last 20 minutes. In the end I think a draw was probably a fair result.
"We didn’t have too many training sessions but playing matches is the best way to get to know each other. You get a better idea of the lines people take on the pitch so a couple of matches is exactly what we needed.
"It was a tough game. Starting off against an international side isn’t easy and the Pumas’ pack were big and physical. Their backs were very strong as well.
"A couple more games and we should begin to gel. We fought back and that was a positive. No one wanted to lay down and accept a defeat. We got back to a position where we could have won it."
