U19 2007 RWC - Canada off to a good start

Canada made the best possible start to their IRB Under 19 World Championship 2007 campaign with an 8–0 win over Zimbabwe in what was a low scoring yet very physical Division B match at Queen’s in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The match was dominated by both packs who cancelled each other out on many occasions with their powerful running and fierce tackling, and it took until the last play of the first half for the first points of the match.

Nathan Hirayama slotted a penalty from in front of the posts, the Canadian fly half went on to have a strong game, controlling territory well with his boot and distributing the ball to the rest of his back line when he got the chance.

The Canadian backs looked dangerous when they did receive the ball and this was highlighted 10 minutes into the second half when Hirayama got the ball out wide for wing Kyle Buckley to run in from 15 metres.

Although Hirayama missed the kick this score proved crucial as it put Canada more than a score in front.

Zimbabwe fought hard to get back into the game and went close on several occasions but just couldn’t put the finishing touches to some well-worked moves.

ome dropped passes and excellent defence from the Canadian forwards left the Zimbabwe team leaving the match, which was watched by an excited crowd with sections cheering on each country, without scoring.

Canada will now look to build on this win and continue on their good start to the tournament against Romania on Easter Sunday, while Zimbabwe will look towards Georgia hoping to get their first win.

QUOTES

Canada captain Sean White: “Everyone is feeling tight after that game. It was a hard match which could have gone either way, thankfully it went our way. We’d have liked to have a bigger margin of win but at the minute we’re just happy to get that W [win].”

Canada coach Gary Johnston: “I wasn’t really pleased with the result. I was hoping to get the extra point with more tries but that was never going to happen with the way Zimbabwe played. Now we’re going to look towards Russia in four days time.”

Zimbabwe captain Andrew Rose: “We’re disappointed as most people would be after a loss. It’s our first match together so hopefully we can build from here. But we’ll play each game as it comes, not look too far forward and see what happens.”

Zimbabwe coach Godwin Murambiwa: “It’s a good experience for Zimbabwe. A lot of people when we came here wondered who we were but hopefully when we run on the pitch people will now notice. When we got here it was almost impossible for us to organise a match and I think that cost us. We’ll have to lift the guys and send them out to beat Georgia.”