Great Britain secured a famous and fully deserved victory over Australia in their Tri-Nations clash in Sydney.

The Lions recovered from 6-0 down in the first half to take a massive step towards the final with a 23-12 triumph.

Sean Long was the hero, shrugging off an early assault from Willie Mason to set up two of Britain's four tries.

It did not take long for the fireworks to begin with big Australian second-rower Mason punching Great Britain prop Stuart Fielden in just the fourth minute.

Mason reacted to a push from Fielden with a thumping right hook which floored Fielden, but amazingly escaped punishment from the referee.

Australia could not break the solid Lions defensive line and coach Ricky Stuart shifted his backline around in an attempt to spark the hosts.

Hunt moved to the wing while Hornby moved to full-back and Cameron Smith joined skipper Darren Lockyer in the halves.

Mason then committed a cynical late tackle on Long, smashing into the St Helens' scrum-half with his elbow to leave Long bleeding from a cut above his eye.

Again Mason escaped punishment and Australia went on to take the lead in the 28th-minute against the run of play.

Britain were attacking the Australian line when Ben Hornby intercepted Long's pass and fed Greg Inglis to race under the posts.

Great Britain continued to create opportunities and eventually levelled the scores after 36 minutes when Long's superb dummy wrong-footed Lockyer and he offloaded to Paul Wellens to score.

Long kicked the conversion to make it 6-6 at half-time.

Lions coach Brian Noble no doubt stressed the need for a strong start to the second half and he got his wish as captain Jamie Peacock squeezed over for a try after just two minutes.

There was an anxious wait as the decision was referred to the video referee but Britain eventually got the verdict on the benefit of the doubt.

The lead only lasted 10 minutes however, Inglis making the initial break and then feeding the supporting Darren Lockyer to cruise under the posts.

Lockyer added the extras to make it 12-12.

A moment of madness from Peacock then almost cost Britain dearly. Peacock's attempted off-load gifted Australia possession and Lockyer's eventual kick seemed to have set up Hornby for a certain try.

But just as Hornby tried to pounce on the bouncing ball he collided with Gareth Raynor and failed to get the ball down.

Britain took full advantage of their reprieve and edged ahead again on 62 minutes, Leon Pryce finding Lee Gilmour who angled his run superbly to scythe through the home defence.

Long missed a great chance to stretch the lead with a penalty on 70 minutes but made amends in sensational fashion with his part in an amazing try which secured victory.

Australia were pressuring the British line when Long hacked clear a loose pass and raced forward to collect the bouncing ball.

Lacking the pace to go all the way himself, Long then fed James Roby and the ball was eventually fed out to the left wing where Raynor scored in the corner.

Long's conversion attempt struck the post but he put the finishing touches on a superb performance with a drop goal to complete the scoring.