Lions flanker Stephen Ferris believes Ireland can take great belief from their clash with New Zealand despite going down to a 38-18 loss.
The Ulster back-row man was bitterly disappointed with the defeat but the two-cap Lion reckons the scoreline was by no means a fair reflection of the game.
"The scoreline maybe flattered them a bit," said Ferris.
"There were a lot of tired bodies afterwards but New Zealand knew they had had a tough game too. It was fast and furious and a good spectacle.
"Speaking to everyone in the dressing room afterwards it didn't feel like we had lost by 20 points. It felt like we'd lost by a few points."
And although Ferris admits Ireland need to take a leaf out of the All Blacks' book and become more clinical side he believes the men in green can learn a lot from the encounter.
"I know what the result says but the boys felt it was a lot closer and we'll take great confidence out of the performance.
"We defended for a lot of the game. When New Zealand had an opportunity they took it.
"When we made a mistake they capitalised quickly, getting three points or a score. We were playing catch-up a bit in the second half.
"We had them under the pump for a while in the final quarter but that spell after half-time when they scored two tries showed what New Zealand can do.
"One minute you're three points behind and the next it's 20. We learnt a lot from the match.
"If we'd cut out those silly errors and got our heads right for the 10 minutes after half-time it could have been completely different.
"New Zealand scored some good tries and were very clinical. We have to be more like that ourselves."
