Whangarei: Winger Phil MacKenzie scooted over in the 73rd minute as Canada opened their Rugby World Cup campaign with a seesawing 25-20 win over Tonga yesterday that will boost its confidence leading into the weekend clash with France.
Aided by a strong tailwind, Canada took a 10-0 lead after 26 minutes and seemed to have the measure of the bigger Tongan lineup, but conceded a try on the stroke of halftime to surrender the ascendancy.
Centre Siale Piutau crossed twice as Tonga scored 20 of the next 23 points before Canada responded again with two late tries running into the wind, both resulting from Tongan turnovers, and defending grimly for the last seven minutes — delayed by a streaker running into the field and diving under the goalposts.
"We were obviously under a lot of pressure... but the guys stuck to our systems and trusted our defence," MacKenzie said. "We got the ball back and put them under pressure and I got lucky I guess. At that point, I didn't really care who scored it as long as it was us."
