RHYS Priestland pulled no punches in assessing his first Wales start in more than two years on Saturday, admitting there was scant chance of him retaining the fly-half jersey for the clash with world champions New Zealand.

Before the weekend’s 13-6 victory over Georgia, Priestland had last started a Test match in September 2015, when Warren Gatland’s men beat Uruguay in the World Cup.

With Dan Biggar establishing himself as the number one 10 and others appearing to move ahead of the Bath playmaker in the pecking order, it was felt his days as an international were numbered.

But after some excellent performances for his club in the Aviva Premiership, the 30-year-old former Scarlets star was given a much-deserved Wales recall by Gatland for the autumn series.

However, he doesn’t think he took his chance in the unconvincing defeat of the Georgians in Cardiff, although he certainly wasn’t the only one who failed to fire on the day.

“It was quite frustrating,” he said. “We couldn’t pull away and probably didn’t play the way we had prepared – I’ve got to take responsibility for that because I’m leading the team on the field.”

He continued: “Against teams who are so physical and have such a dominant set-piece, we have to realise that taking somebody out in the air or throwing a loose offload has consequences.

“All credit to Georgia, that’s what they came and did, and we knew what they were going to do, so it’s very disappointing that we let them dictate the game.”

Priestland added: “Obviously I’m very pleased to be back but I wish it had been a bit of a different feeling afterwards because it was a very frustrating performance to be involved with.

“I’m pleased to be back, I just wish I’d given a better account of myself.”

When asked about being selected for that All Blacks encounter, he said: “We’ll wait and see but I’m not holding my breath.”

Priestland, who now has 49 caps, also played down his chances of filling the inside centre berth if Gatland opts for two 10s as he did against Australia when Owen Williams played outside Biggar.