Canada's 25-20 win was well deserved but somewhat fortunate. Very fortunate that the Tongan pack crumbled the way it did in the last 20 of the match. I was impressed with the Canadian tackling - 101 tackles made and only 10 missed. I was dismayed with the SA referee and his line judges who missed many calls particularly against Canada - what comes to mind is two instances: the blatant leg whip on Pritchard and the illegal tackle on Monro. Very poor refereeing. The ref seemed more concerned with nickle and diming both teams on offsides than on more serious infractions. Even former All Black commentator Justin Marshall was incredulous with some of the referee's decisions. That says something.
So as Canada gets a short 4 days turnaround against what will be a pissed off French side on Sunday.....
Pros
1) Keelburger and Carpenter - excellent play from the back row especially with O'Toole's early departure
2) Pritchard's kicking was spot on which will help later in the tournament
3) Monro ably controlled the backline and organized some solid attacks
4) DTH was solid in the centre both running and tackling
5) Nice solid scrummaging and mauling especially in the latter half of the match
Cons
1) Ed Fairhurst was a disaster kicking away possession 9 times for no apparent reason
2) Losing O'Toole one of their better professional players
3) Riordan as captain needs to assert himself more especially when dealing with the referee
4) Cudmore needs to involve himself more physically - he was a non factor
5) Too laid back defence of the backline needs to be more aggressive
Hopefully the French don't beat us too badly on Sunday. Hopefully we can keep the game in touch and under 50 points.
So as Canada gets a short 4 days turnaround against what will be a pissed off French side on Sunday.....
Pros
1) Keelburger and Carpenter - excellent play from the back row especially with O'Toole's early departure
2) Pritchard's kicking was spot on which will help later in the tournament
3) Monro ably controlled the backline and organized some solid attacks
4) DTH was solid in the centre both running and tackling
5) Nice solid scrummaging and mauling especially in the latter half of the match
Cons
1) Ed Fairhurst was a disaster kicking away possession 9 times for no apparent reason
2) Losing O'Toole one of their better professional players
3) Riordan as captain needs to assert himself more especially when dealing with the referee
4) Cudmore needs to involve himself more physically - he was a non factor
5) Too laid back defence of the backline needs to be more aggressive
Hopefully the French don't beat us too badly on Sunday. Hopefully we can keep the game in touch and under 50 points.