The 2003 Irish player of the year sustained a broken leg in a World Cup warm-up match against Scotland in September, forcing him out of the competition Down Under and into an intense period of rehabilitation.

Murphy feared a similar scenario might unravel at the Millennium Stadium on Monday night when the Lions warmed up for their tour of New Zealand with a Test against Argentina, one of the most physical sides in the game.

If any team had the ability to cause the Lions some early injury problems it was the Pumas, but Murphy emerged from the 25-25 draw intact and was delighted to banish memories of his World Cup heartbreak.

“It was a strange match for me because of what happened in the warm-up against Scotland in the build-up to the World Cup. One of the guys reminded me that at least we were still on the plane for New Zealand,” he said.

“I had a little giggle to myself because what he said was very true. Sunday night was worrying for me because I knew I faced a big game. It would have been easy for me to slack off and play at 80 or 90% but I didn’t.

“I wouldn’t have been able to look myself in the mirror had I done that. Thankfully it went well and I’m looking forward to arriving in New Zealand.”

Murphy departs with the 45-strong touring party tomorrow evening but the Lions will not land in New Zealand in the buoyant mood expected following a dreadful performance against Argentina.

It took a Jonny Wilkinson penalty deep into injury-time to snatch a draw Sir Clive Woodward’s men scarcely deserved and Murphy admitted his side’s shortcomings, although he took solace from the second-half fightback.

“It was disappointing because we didn’t really play the way we wanted to. Granted we only had three or four sessions together, but we still had a gameplan. The Argentinians spoiled it and didn’t let us play,” said the 27-year-old.

“We turned over a lot of ball in the contact area – they were excellent at poaching in midfield. There was nothing we could about it. We were trying to do things through three or four phases but only got through one or two.

“On occasions when we got a little bit of loose ball or were in open space we looked dangerous. But on the whole they shut us down at source. They concentrated on winning penalties and the rolling maul.

“But maybe we got a little bit ahead of ourselves. We should have concentrated on winning the ball. It’s difficult because it’s a new team but we controlled the game in the last 20 minutes. In the end I think a draw was probably a fair result.

“We didn’t have too many training sessions but playing matches is the best way to get to know each other. You get a better idea of the lines people take on the pitch so a couple of matches is exactly what we needed.

“It was a tough game. Starting off against an international side isn’t easy and the Pumas’ pack were big and physical. Their backs were very strong as well.

“A couple more games and we should begin to gel. We fought back and that was a positive. No one wanted to lay down and accept a defeat. We got back to a position where we could have won it.”