Hugh McGahan: Dangerous to disregard passion and skills of Great Britain team

The Kiwi team are still in peril of being back-slammed out of this competition. This Great Britain side are stronger than we give them credit for and will hit back even stronger in our next encounter in two weeks.

Whatever we learned from last night's game, my hope is that we all now have some respect for them. I have felt that, generally, there is an air of complacency from the public and some experts on the abilities of Great Britain. The hammering earlier this year, albeit of an under-strength Kiwi team, has evaporated from our memories, maybe because of the New Zealand side that played that evening. Whatever the reason, these Poms will be a thorn in the side of both New Zealand and Australia.

We speak of the passion of our coach Brian McClennan but, in the Lions coach you have a man that sweats patriotism, Brian Noble. He has a love for the game of rugby league and is a man no longer a student in the coaching ranks but one who is becoming a master in the art of instruction.

He has proven his worth with his former team the Bradford Bulls, which he inherited from Brian Smith who returned to Parramatta to build the club to respectability in the mid- to late-90s. Within a decade with that club, Noble helped them to numerous titles in both championship and knockout competitions. He has now taken over the formerly great club Wigan, and brought them back from the jaws of relegation. His record is unrivalled of the three coaches involved in this Tri Series. Having played against Brian during the 80s and been involved with teams that have played his, I have witnessed his subtle directness and single-minded desire to succeed, crossed with a coach who does not mind bunkering down with his charges and enjoying their company with a beer.

We do not see the latter characteristic on television, but I assure you Brian has respect from his players and management because of his ability to be a boss and a friend, despite the environment under which they are performing.

Great Britain will not die wondering if they have the fire-power to match the Australians in this competition. There is a confidence within this team and a desire to make it known to those Down Under who dismiss their abilities that they have not travelled all this way just to be the third party in this Tri Series; they mean to be a serious contender.

So let us remember that Australia is in the driving seat of this competition so far, and we are now just passengers.

We are relying on the result of next week's game between Australia and Great Britain which will give us an indication of what we have left to do. Despite the expectation before this series, we now have a waiting game before we can make amends for our slow start.