British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland conceded his side “got what they deserved” after seeing their unbeaten tour record disappear in a disappointing showing against the Brumbies.
Just four days before the opening Test against Australia, the Lions went down 14-12 at Canberra Stadium to bring an end to their five-match winning streak.
Gatland said: “There’s no excuses. (Our) first-half performance wasn’t good enough and we got what we deserved. It’s just disappointing. In fairness to the Brumbies they played well, put us under pressure at the breakdown.”
The Lions trailed 8-3 at the break after struggling in the first half but they put on a better showing in the second half to get themselves back into contention before falling just short.
Gatland said: “I was disappointed with the intensity of the first half. I thought we were much better in the second half. We just weren’t quite good enough.
“We made a few changes, gave them a bit of a rocket at half-time and I thought we were much better in the second half. We seemed a little bit flat out there in the first half, played too much rugby in our own half and we probably needed to play a little bit smarter.
“It was a pretty tight game and there weren’t a lot of opportunities.”
Looking ahead to the weekend and the opening Test, Gatland said: “Lots of players will be disappointed but we just need to take it on the chin and start focusing on Saturday.”