Canada strike late to capture win

A LATE try from wing Phil Mackenzie saw Canada open their Pool A campaign with a win in a seesaw tussle against Tonga in Whangarei.

The Canucks had established a 10-0 lead thanks to a try from lock Jebb Sinclair and a conversion and penalty from James Pritchard, but Tonga hit back with two tries from centre Siale Piutau and ten points from the boot of Kurt Morath to lead 20-13. Canada, however, kept their composure and scores from No 8 Aaron Carpenter and Esher wing MacKenzie sealed the win, ensuring they remain unbeaten against Tonga in three World Cup finals meetings and effectively eliminating the South Sea Islanders from the tournament.

Coach Kieran Crowley had challenged the Canucks to match Tonga’s physicality, and they started impressively by dominating possession and territory.

And it led to the first try after quarter of an hour as Glasgow back DTH van der Merwe slipped through some weak tackling to link with centre Ryan Smith and send lock Sinclair, who will join London Irish after the tournament, over. Bedford full-back Pritchard added the extras.

Thereafter, the advantage in the game moved from one side to the other, but it was the Canadians who were able to seal the all-important valedictory score.