Geordan Murphy led Ireland for the first time against the Maoris

Stand-in skipper Geordan Murphy admitted Ireland had a lot of hard work ahead of them after Friday's 31-28 defeat by the New Zealand Maoris.

Declan Kidney's men complete their tour with a Test against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday, 26 June.

"We gave ourselves a mountain to climb by going 15 points down but we stuck with it and grafted," said Murphy.

"There were some positives, but we have to look at the negatives. There is plenty for us to work on."

The match was part of a series to commemorate the centenary of the formation of the first official Maori rugby team in New Zealand.

"It's awesome, the boys really dug in for 80 minutes and showed their character towards the end there," said Maori captain Liam Messam.

"It is 100 years and I think we celebrated it in the right way."

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