LIONS' forgotten man Gareth Cooper has vowed to put on a brave face in a bid to force his way into coach Clive Woodward's reckoning.

Cooper has found himself last behind Dwayne Peel, Matt Dawson and Chris Cusiter in the scrum-half pecking order after being starved of game time since arriving in New Zealand.

The Dragons' number nine has started just one game since stepping off the plane - finding himself hauled off after just 50 minutes in favour of Cusiter during the tourists' limp 26-16 victory over Southland.

But the 26-year-old - who was named on the bench behind Cusiter in the side to face Manawatu tomorrow - promised he would pull out all the stops in a bid to boost morale in the tourists' camp.

He said: "It would be no good just moping around. It has been disappointing but I've had to try to hide my disappointment and get on with helping everybody else. It's a case of hiding your own disappointment and wishing the team well.

"It's not really about me - it's about the squad. I haven't had many chances but all I can do is play when I'm allowed to.

"The Manawatu game is a chance to really lift the boys who played on Saturday with our performance and get things back on track before the second Test.

"I've had limited game time throughout the tour. I'm looking forward to hopefully getting on the field and then just trying to do as much as I can to show that I actually can play rugby."

And Cooper gave fellow Welshman Peel a big pat on the back for his performance in the first Test. The Llanelli Scarlets' number nine was one of the tourists' rare shining lights at a rain-soaked Jade Stadium - and Cooper refused to hand his fellow half-back any of the blame for the 21-3 defeat.

He said: "I've spoken to Dwayne about Saturday's game and it was a hard night for him what with the weather. I thought he handled it really well.

"His passing was superb in those conditions. He was disappointed - like everyone was - but he'll be looking to bounce back next time.

"The atmosphere in Christchurch was incredible. Just being there watching the boys play was fantastic. We made a lot of mistakes but hopefully those are things that we can put right in training this week."