Canada shock Tonga

Canada celebrate their victory

Canada produced the first shock of the Rugby World Cup as they toppled Tonga 25-20 in Whangarei.

Few had given the Canucks much of a chance against the Pacific islanders, but they produced a hugely determined display to secure the win.

Canada had led 10-0 early on and battled like Trojans throughout - even outmuscling the Tongans in the tackle.

And although Tonga seemed to have regained control of the match, Canada hit back with two late tries to seal the win.

Jebb Sinclair, Aaron Carpenter and Phil Mackenzie crossed for tries, with James Pritchard adding 10 points via the boot.

For Tonga, Siale Piutau scored the first two tries of his international career, while Kurt Morath slotted over 10 points.

Despite not touching the ball during an early onslaught from the Tongans, it was Canada who moved into an early lead.

First Chauncey O'Toole and then DTH Van Der Merwe cut through the Tonga defence, before Sinclair applied the finish. Pritchard converted.

Kurt Morath missed two straightforward efforts to cut the deficit for the Pacific islanders - with frustrating errors a common theme in their play.

Clicked

Tonga had the territory and possession to drive Canada back but too often their handling let them down.

And Canada made them pay as Pritchard extended their lead to 10-0 after 26 minutes.

However things finally clicked into place for Tonga when Piutau crossed for his first international try just before half-time.

A series of drives in the Canada 22 opened up the space out wide for Piutau to exploit - with Morath adding the conversion.

And the scores were level just after the interval when Morath slotted over a penalty - only for Canada to respond with a three-pointer of their own through Pritchard.

The Canucks came unstuck, though, as a beautifully worked backs move released Piutau for his second try. Morath converted.

Morath landed his second penalty to open up a seven-point lead - and it seemed as if the game was slipping away.

However Canada responded brilliantly as Carpenter showed his strength to power over following Conor Trainor's initial burst. Pritchard missed the extras.

It didn't matter, though, as MacKenzie broke through a gap after a series of powerful drives to put the Canadians back in front. Pritchard converted.