ONE of the few positives from Wales’ hammering at the hands of Argentina was the display of Aaron Jarvis on debut.

The 26-year-old Ospreys tighthead performed admirably on his Millennium Stadium bow, scrummaging solidly and making 10 tackles.

Jarvis may not quite be of the high standard of Lions ace Adam Jones, who is sidelined by a knee injury, but at least the drop-off wasn’t quite as dramatic as it has been in the past.

“Aaron looked comfortable at Test level,” said Wales forwards coach Robin McBryde. “He was solid in the scrum, which is his number-one job, and contributed in the loose.”

Jarvis also earned the praise of the man who was face to face with him at the set piece and Argentina loosehead Marcos Ayerza has urged Wales to forget about those who are absent through injury.

“Adam Jones is one of the best tightheads in the world, but in Jarvis and Paul James they have two very good replacements,” said the Pumas prop.

“Wales cannot focus on who is missing because they have some very good talent coming through. They need to be confident in who is wearing the jersey rather than worrying about who is not there.”

The Leicester loosehead believes Argentina have reaped the benefit of playing in the Rugby Championship against the might of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

“Playing games against the best sides in the world and playing at a high tempo and intensity can only help us to develop,” he said.

“You saw that against Wales. We played 80 minutes at a very good intensity.

“It was our first season in the Rugby Championship, and we will continue to improve.

“The speed of the game and the intensity of the players in the contact area is something else.

“Unless you play a high-tempo game you won’t get any better.

“To beat Wales at the Millennium Stadium is a huge achievement, one that we are very proud of, and we will celebrate accordingly,” he continued.

“It shows we are going in the right direction and that we are improving as a nation.”