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banner Monday, 2 July, 2001, 14:31 GMT 15:31 UK
Giffin: We can strike back
Australian second row and BBC Sport Online columnist David Giffin
Australian second row and new BBC Sport Online columnist David Giffin is still hopeful that Australia can recover against the Lions after losing the first Test in Brisbane.

The team will be very disappointed. But huge credit must be given to the Lions. They fought magnificently.

They came out in the first half and controlled the ball really well.

The Lions produced some excellent tactical kicking, which was something we just didn't do.

Their forward pack as a group worked well together and set the platform for their victory.

And they defended very well around the edge of the ruck and also in midfield.

Jason Robinson, in particular, was outstanding. His running caused the team all sorts of problems.

Jason Robinson breaks through the Australian defence
Robinson impressed for the Lions

He's a fantastic player and one we had marked down as a player who could cause problems - his performance didn't surprise us at all.

We just made basic errors and defensive lapses allowed them in for early tries.

I can't single anybody out in the Australian team for under-performing - the reason we lost was just that collectively we were out-played.

It's disappointing and a bit of a setback - the belief in the side, though, is still strong.

We can hit back and still win the series - we didn't play well tonight and the Lions performed strongly.

We will have a look at the game on video before we can say where any changes may be needed.

We need to improve on our control and the support play - and also on the recycling of the ball.

That's one thing we definitely need to work on.

We controlled the ball better in the second half and we'll have to do more of the same in the second and third Tests.

There's no time for relaxing after this defeat.

We are heading straight down to Melbourne on Sunday and get back into training on Monday.

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29 Jun 01 |  Lions Down Under
May the best team win
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