Britain closing the gap - Gower

Great Britain received encouragement from within the enemy camp as they prepared to bounce back from their 12-8 defeat by Australia.

A last-minute Luke Rooney try finally broke the deadlock in the Gillette Tri-Nations clash in Manchester and took the world champions through to the final but half-back Craig Gower admits his side were fortunate to get both points.

"I'd definitely have settled for a draw," he revealed. "It's always tough coming over here and getting another win is fantastic. It puts us into the final and that's what we came here to do.

"It was one of the hardest Test matches I've played in. Great Britain get better and better. Defensively, they're not making many errors and we came up with a couple of lucky tries.

"It's getting closer and closer. It just shows the competition over here is building up, which is great for rugby league in general."

Gower, a member of Australia's 3-0 Ashes-winning side last year, paid tribute to second rower Nathan Hindmarsh for charging down an attempted drop goal from Andy Farrell which turned the game in the closing stages.

Hindmarsh, who had performed a similar act to deny Paul Sculthorpe 12 minutes earlier, dived on the rolling ball to help set up the position from which Rooney scored the match-winning try.

"You can't teach that stuff, it comes from within," said Gower. "He showed some great character to do that when he was pretty leg-less out there.

"It just shows how much character we've got in this side to play right to the death."

Australia now have a week off before they play Great Britain again, leaving the Lions and the Kiwis to battle it out for the remaining spot at Elland Road on November 27.

Gower says it could be too close to call but believes Britain will improve throughout the tournament.

"That's a tough question," he said. "They are two good sides and it will be interesting to see how Great Britain bounce back and how New Zealand play over here. I'd hate to say.

"It was their first run so they'll get better for that. If they can shrug off that loss, it will be a good sign for them.

"They have both been tough opposition. I suppose that home ground advantage might favour the Great Britain side."