British and Irish Lions

Paul O'Connell has backed his under-fire Munster and Ireland team mate Ronan O'Gara to bounce back from the criticism he picked up at the end of last weekend's second Test in Pretoria.

It was the unfortunate O'Gara who conceded the penalty in the laast minute that allowed Morne Steyn to rob the Lions of a draw with his 54 metre penalty goal

But Lions skipper O'Connell says his team should never have been in a position to lose the game and that O'Gara is mentally tough enough to hit back this weekend

"Ronan is disappointed and very low. But he's a tough guy mentally - that's his biggest strength," said O'Connell.

"What happened in the second Test won't be lost on him, but the tough guys bounce back and Ronan is one of them. When you keep putting yourself out there for selection in the big games these things happen.

"Our careers aren't always up, up, up. We should have been away and the game should have been over by that stage and we all have bad days.

"Ronan has had many brilliant days, where he has won games single-handedly, and I'm lucky enough to have won a few medals because of his brilliance. I don't think I would have any of them if it wasn't for him.

"He's extremely disappointed and, no doubt, he will beat himself up over it, but he will bounce back."

The Waratahs upset the odds by beating Super Rugby leaders the Brumbies 28-22, but the game came at a huge cost to Qantas Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.

Lions skipper Sam Warburton says the lessons he and his Welsh colleagues learnt in Australia last summer will stand them in good stead for their return visit with Britain and Ireland's elite next month.