A fantastic team effort gave Great Britain a winning start, but if one man deserves special praise it is St Helens' Paul Sculthorpe.

The players' player of the year was outstanding throughout, scoring two tries and two drop goals.

Sculthorpe has overcome the disappointment of last year's World Cup semi-final mauling by New Zealand and has been playing the best rugby of his life.

He had another massive influence in achieving victory on Sunday.

Sculthorpe, named man-of-the-match, said: "It was a good performance - that's one of three. But if we don't win one of the next two it's pointless.

"We were mentally prepared. A lot of people say that Great Britain are beaten before they've even got on the field against the Aussies. We certainly weren't.

"We know we've got the ability to win the game, and we proved it."

Skipper Andy Farrell echoed Sculthorpe's sentiments and is clear about the team's intention.

Improvement needed

He said: "Our aim is to win an Ashes series. It's not been done since 1970. We're one step of the way there - we're not there yet.

"Our defence worked so hard, we controlled the ball really well in certain areas.

"There's still a lot of improving to do. We'll need to do that to win the series. But I'm absolutely delighted with the performance and we're one-up."

Coach David Waite was delighted with his side's defence, which shut out Australia for just over an hour.

The key, he said, was: "A relaxation, calmness and a method of defending very well for major sections of the game and an attitude for winning."

The Kangaroos came back strongly, scoring two tries, something Waite expected.

He said: "It's a reminder that you're playing against the world's best. They're going to do that.

"They had a couple of forward passes pulled back and the try-scoring opportunities were probably even between the sides over the 80 minutes."

Team selection

Waite knows how difficult the next two Tests will be.

He remains professionally cautious, and said he will not be afraid to make changes to the team.

"It is a good start. We need to work very hard in the next two weeks to back it up.

"We said all along we pick the right people for the right test match. The next one will be a lot harder than that.

"We might have some other people available to us - if so, we'll consider them," he said.

That could mean Terry Newton coming straight back into the side.

Victory was achieved without a recognised number nine on the pitch on Sunday.

It is likely, though, that Waite will prefer to play with a hooker in the next game if Newton is fit.