Lions.....25 Argentina.....25

THE New Zealand public expect their mighty All Blacks to win the Test series 3-0 against the British Lions this summer. That looked a pretty accurate assessment as the Lions stumbled to a draw against a seriously weakened Argentina side at the Millennium Stadium last night.

This wasn't supposed to happen on such an historic occasion as the Lions played a warm-up match for the first time before leaving for the Southern Hemisphere.

It was meant to be a stroll in the park against a Pumas team shorn of all their leading players, mainly because of commitments in the French Championship.

Over 20 were missing and though it was hardly the first choice Lions line-up either, it was at worst meant to be a pretty effective dress rehearsal for the more serious business in New Zealand to follow and at best a warning shot across the All Blacks' bows.

It proved neither as the Lions looked more like lambs with the Pumas drawing their sting and going for the killer blow themselves.

They stormed into a shock 13-0 lead after only 15 minutes and were never headed. They were 19-16 in front at the interval and 25-19 ahead after an hour as a near third choice side made life for the Lions difficult.

And a country which has the Contepomi brothers and Gonzalo Qesada as outside halves unearthed another last night.

Unknown Frederico Todeschini nearly stole the show as he fired penalties over from all angles, six in all, as well as converting winger Jose Piossek's early try after a static defence was exposed.

It was left to a rather more famous number 10 to rescue the Lions as they threatened to leave these shores to the sound of jeers rather than audible noises of sheer relief.

Though Jonny Wilkinson's penalties were from far easier positions than his opposite number, he slotted them all, six as well, plus the conversion of Ollie Smith's first half try.

And the last which saved the Lions' blushes was the most difficult from wide out on the left, but Wilkinson was spot on again to salvage a draw.

He knew it was the last kick of the match but didn't falter and proved he's still got the accuracy and the temperament in his first international appearance since the World Cup final 18 months ago.

But it was the Pumas who celebrated at the final whistle even though the spoils of victory had been cruelly snatched from them. It seemed like a win all the same as their bunch of amateurs took on some of the Northern Hemisphere's most highly paid professionals and made them look second rate.

The vastly experienced front row trio of Frederico Mendez, man-of the-match Mario Ledesma and Mauricio Reggiardo, all past their best, nevertheless proved a real handful while the entire team ran and tackled as though their lives depended on it.

If only the same could be said for the Lions as more players probably played themselves out of the Test team rather than into it.

But it's early days yet and the provincial matches in New Zealand are there for the Lions to try to gel and form a formidable Test line-up.

And there is a precedent for this kind of thing, for the Lions of 1971 lost their first match in Australia, who were nothing like as formidable then as they are now, on the way over.

We all know what happened then - those Lions became the only ones to win a Test series Down Under.

So it's not the end of the world, a setback for sure, but certainly not terminal. It means coach Sir Clive Woodward may have to produce his big guns earlier on the tour than he might otherwise have liked, for it will do nothing for morale if the early matches in New Zealand are lost.

But a result like this will, nevertheless, hardly set the alarm bells ringing or cause any sleepless nights on the other side of the world.

Wilkinson apart - his sharp half breaks and rocket-like passes also significant - few Lions grasped the opportunity and there was a worrying early sign of that falling between two stools some fear might happen.

Whereas captain-for-the-night Michael Owen appeared to want to offload the ball at speed as he did for Wales this season, his team-mates appeared reluctant to catch on and too often the ball was spilled as when Irish centre Gordon D'Arcy knocked on with the line at his mercy in injury time.

Shane Williams had a dart or two, but Gareth Cooper was replaced by Chris Cusiter in the second half and Owen was fairly anonymous, so it wasn't a good night for the Welsh players or the fans in the 61,569 crowd, a pretty hefty figure for a Monday night.

But much more of this, a repeat of such indecision when the real business starts, and it could prove a really long tour in a harsh New Zealand winter.

British Lions: G Murphy, D Hickie, O Smith (S Horgan 62), G D'Arcy, S Williams, J Wilkinson, G Cooper (C Cusiter 59), G Rowntree, S Byrne (S Thompson 70), J Hayes (J White 50), D O'Callaghan (B Kay 70), D Grewcock (D O'Callaghan 72), M Corry, M Owen (captain), L Moody. Scorers: try: O Smith; conversion: J Wilkinson; penalties: Wilkinson (6).

Argentina: B Stortini, J N Piossek, L Arbisu, F Contepomi (captain), F Leonelli, F Todeschini, N F Miranda, F Mendez, M Ledesma, M Reggiardo, P Bouza, M Sambucetti (M Carizza 73), M Schusterman, J M Leguizamon, F Genoud (S Sanz 71). Scorers: try: J N Piossek; conversion: F Todeschini; penalties: Todeschini (6).