Canada stun Tonga in thrilling contest

Canada pulled off a stunning upset in Whangarei to leave Tonga winless in Pool A, scoring two tries in a lethal eight minute period late in the match to begin their World Cup campaign with an unlikely 25-20 win. A bizarre team selection saw eleven new players enter the Tongan starting line-up, with positional changes for each of the four players that kept their spot from the opening match. Canada had no such problems in their first match of the tournament, naming their strongest team and playing pragmatic rugby to gain their first win in a World Cup since 2003.

Tonga dominated the opening sequence of the first half, with Northland expat Fetu’u Vainkolo coming close in the fourth minute before the Canadians had even touched the ball. The Canucks looked to keep the ball tight once in possession and in the 12th minute an eye-catching period of play led to lock Jebb Sinclair opening Canada’s account in 2011. James Pritchard stretched the lead to ten after Tonga infringed in their own half, while wayward kicking by Kurt Morath into a stiff breeze denied the Tongans a chance to close the gap. Sustained pressure by Tonga in the final minutes of the half led to Tonga’s first points, courtesy of an incisive run by impressive centre Siale Piutau, as a close half ended 10-7.

Morath and Pritchard traded penalties early in the second period before Piutau crossed again to give Tonga a four point lead. A further Morath penalty in the 64th minute stretched the lead as Tonga looked to close out the match as expected; however Canada rose to the occasion in the 68th minute through further excellence from their hard-working pack, sending No. 8 Aaron Carpenter over the line to reduce the deficit to two. Sustained pressure from the Canucks then saw wing Phil McKenzie scythe through a half-hearted Tongan defence to score the match-winning try as Tonga saw any outside chance of a quarter-final spot fade dramatically. In contrast, Canadian captain Pat Roirdan oozed pride post-match over the most unlikely of his country’s three straight World Cup triumphs over the island nation.