| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canada skipper injured in farewell
WOLLONGONG, Australia (Reuters) -- Canada ended their World Cup with a convincing 24-7 win over Tonga on Wednesday in a bruising pool D match marred by an injury to Al Charron. The Canadian skipper, playing his 76th and final international before retiring, was carried off the field after being knocked out cold by a tackle from Tonga flyhalf Pierre Hola. The Canadians complained to Irish referee Alain Rolland that the tackle was dangerous but the official disagreed, allowing play to continue once Charron had left the pitch. "Unfortunately he was badly hit in the head. It was an unfortunate incident, he will be going to hospital for a few hours," Canada coach David Clark said. "But we're going to celebrate without him until he comes back. He's got a badly cut lip and he might not be able to have a drink." Canada centre Nik Witkowski also departed with blood streaming from his face after being accidentally stamped on, and Tonga replacement David Palu was sin-binned in the last minute for a shoulder charge on James Pritchard. Tonga led 7-3 midway through the first half but the Canadians recovered to sneak ahead 9-7 at the break before piling up 15 unanswered points to end the tournament on a high and condemn the Tongans to bottom spot in the group. "We played really really well. We played running rugby, which was our style of rugby, but we missed the finesse and maybe the finesse is something that comes with being well rested," Tonga captain Inoke Afeaki said. "If we had been well rested the passes might have stuck and there would have been more tries. "We knew what we had to do, but it was unrealistic working at this level." "It was one of the most physical games I've ever played, the guys were really athletic," Canada hooker Mark Lawson said. "It was huge. No one want to go home without a win." Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
