Wellington 6-23 Lions Photos from Wellington All the action as it happened

Although the Lions did not put in a completely polished display, victory was crucial following Saturday's defeat against the New Zealand Maori.

"I am pretty pleased," said O'Driscoll. "We had to compete in certain areas and for the most part we did that.

"There is some way to go before the first Test but I am far happier than I was on Saturday night."

The Lions looked far stronger and committed at the breakdown, which was an area of concern after the Maori defeat.

We are still forcing it at times but there was some very good rugby out there Lions assistant coach Ian McGeechan

And O'Driscoll was not too concerned that the backs failed to sparkle on a damp and windy Wellington night.

"The ball was like a bar of soap out there and both sides made a lot of unforced errors," O'Driscoll added.

"It was tough out there, there was a swirling wind and the surface was very greasy. It was not there for an expansive game.

"We had to rough it out and we dominated the breakdown at last.

"We were one pass away from probably scoring three or four more tries and we are teetering on the edge of beating sides well.

"It did not happen for us like that against Wellington but maybe we are saving ourselves.

McGeechan was delighted that his forwards shone against Wellington

"It was not exactly the polished performance we were looking for but there were a lot of positives for us."

Lions assistant coach Ian McGeechan hailed the display of the pack in securing victory at the Westpac Stadium.

"The pack were tremendous, to have that much control of a game against a side like Wellington is very encouraging," he said.

"The last pass was disappointing, we are still forcing it at times but there was some very good rugby out there.

"The players feel that which is good and it is important that they are building confidence in playing with each other with different combinations."

Wellington coach dismisses Lions

Prop Gethin Jenkins believed his 36th-minute try came at the right time for his side, who failed to convert early pressure into a big lead.

"We had a lot of possession and we couldn't quite turn it into points," he said. "Luckily I managed to score the try and we managed to build on it.

"I don't score many tries so you just want to put the ball down before somebody catches you."