The Wallabies had chances to ice the game with a field goal in the dying stages of a 16-all draw which went deep into the 89^th minute with the All Blacks in Wellington on Sunday afternoon.

O'Connor says a breakdown in communication meant he was never in a position to line up an attempt before the Wallabies turned the ball over and were forced to repel New Zealand's charge.

But he is confident that will change with more time on the park together.

"I didn't really get to line up for it, we missed the trigger, we played a little bit too early," O'Connor said.

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"We're a new group, we've just come together, we've taken on a lot of detail in these past few weeks. I'm very proud of the intent the guys had, we really stepped up, but in terms of detail, there is a few things we really need to work on. That will take us into next week really well.

"Obviously we were still on the front foot there. Hindsight is a beautiful thing, we were trying to play on top of them.

"As soon as it slowed down, that was the call, to get the shape sorted to sit in the pocket and put the drop goal over. It's going to make next week all the more interesting.

"It's hard to say a missed opportunity, because I believe we delivered all we could in that stage of where we are. You want to keep moving forward as a group, you've got to start somewhere."

O'Connor's showing in the No. 10 jersey kept young gun Noah Lolesio from making his Test debut, with Wallabies coach Dave Rennie opting for the experienced head with the game on the line.

"We were keen to get Noah out there at some stage but the game was tight and James was going well," Rennie said.

Now the series moves to Auckland's Eden Park - where the Wallabies have not won since 1986 - before two matches in Australia, with the underdogs needing to win two games to clinch the trophy.