British & Irish Lions lock Geoff Parling says he was proud of England’s performance against New Zealand, despite going down to a last-gasp 20-15 defeat to the All Blacks on Saturday.
The Red Rose put up more than a fight in Auckland as Freddie Burns kicked 12 points in a faultless showing from the tee.
But it wasn’t enough against the fearless All Blacks, who host the Lions in 2017, as they won the game at the death when Conrad Smith scored the game’s only try with two minutes to go.
England have now prevailed just twice on New Zealand soil in 13 attempts, while the All Blacks are unbeaten in 32 and have not lost at Eden Park since 1994.
And despite losing the opening Test in the three-game series, Parling – who played alongside fellow Lions Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs – claims there were plenty of positives to take.
"It was a good performance, we should be proud of,” said Parling. “It was there for the taking, if a few calls had gone our way we would have got the win."
