Noble says the Lions firmly believe they can win the title

With his side 18-12 ahead inside the final 15 minutes, head coach Noble said previous Lions teams may have crumbled.

"In days gone by we might have panicked under pressure but we didn't. We've shown we're as good as the other two teams," insisted the Wigan boss.

Scrum-half Sean Long said GB must now beat New Zealand on Saturday. "We've got to kick on from here," he said.

Britain's man of the match against the Aussies added: "If we don't win next week there's no point in winning this one.

"It's good to get some points on the table but like I said we've got to kick on and do it again."

Great Britain lost 18-14 in their opening Tri-Nations encounter against the Kiwis.

But Noble said: "I can only reinforce I don't think we were that bad. We saw the tale of the tape and we thought we didn't get our just rewards.

"I thought we were pretty good in the strength department, we just didn't control the ball as much.

"I said if we improved that we would do well and it has transpired."

Holders New Zealand need to beat Britain to stay in the competition after having two points docked for fielding an ineligible player.