Classic Lions 29 Canada 12

They say that an animal is at its most dangerous when wounded and so it was proved as the Lions roared to victory over a game Canada side who caused more than a few scares early on during the second day of the World Rugby Classic yesterday.

Maybe it had something to do with the Canadian shorts which resembled Ann Summers-style underwear rather than sporting apparel, but with the game barely three minutes old the Lions were caught cold and Roger Robinson crashed over the try-line to give the underdogs a 7-0 lead.

The Canadians in the crowd at the newly christened National Sports Centre sensed an upset on the cards and they had good cause as the Lions looked particularly out of sorts during the opening encounters.

However, parity was restored after five minutes when Ashley Blair broke through the defences for the score and then kicked the subsequent conversion.

But just as the Lions got themselves back into the clash they shot themselves in the foot by allowing Ian Jones to breach the rearguard.

Had Randy Hosler's conversion been good who knows what might have been on the cards, but his direction was wayward and the score only moved as far as 12-7.

As a result the Lions came again and the sides once again drew level when Ian Corcoran finished off an excellent move. Derek McAleese missed with a chance for the extra points and the teams went in 12-each at the break.

Determined to put the first half well and truly behind them, the Lions came out more determined in the second period and with 39 minutes gone they surged ahead for the first time.

A missed tackle just inside the Canadian half led to Kenny Murphy receiving a pass before running free for the try.

Again the conversion was missed but the Lions were not made to pay for their profligacy and Owain Williams further extended their lead in the 46th minute. McAleese found his range and kicked the conversion to make the score 24-12.

Try as they might the Canadians could not rally and though they alleged there were some dubious decisions being made by the officials, in truth the strength and experience of the Lions proved too much.

That was illustrated shortly before the end when Paul Holford made the score 29-12 after an attempted clearance fell invitingly for Nigel Heslop who ran 20 yards before releasing the ball to his team-mate.

Lions captain Colin Deans said the Canadians had caught them on the back foot with their lightning start.

"They got in amongst us and were very abrasive and very aggressive in the first 10 or 15 minutes and they deserved to be ahead," he said. "But we knew we had a good game and the shape came in the second half. The forwards became dominant and the backs started to put some good possession together."

The Lions were a few players down as some of their squad had yet to arrive on the Island, but Deans said that had little to do with how they played early on.

"That is the first time we have played together and like I said, in the second half we showed what we could do and started to play as a team. We were a lot of individuals in the first half," he said.

The Lions go on to play to play the Argentine Pumas tomorrow night in a semi-final clash under the lights and Deans gave early warning of the European side's ambitions.

"Winning is all-important now. It's not the participation, it's the winning. They are good set of lads and it's probably the youngest side that has been out for a long while and they want to win," he said.

Spencer Robinson, the undoubted star of last year's Canadian side and brother of try-scorer Roger, was naturally upset at the outcome.

"We are very disappointed," he said, adding the team believed before the game that they were a match for the Lions. "You could see from the way we started the game we were all into it. Our first try was basically a team try. Although one guy kicked it and another guy secured it, it was the fact the whole team was pursuing the ball that allowed us to get the early score.

"We knew we were in it and we definitely seemed hungrier than the Lions today. But we couldn't get any flow going. There were a lot of whistles and the referee was calling things against us so we couldn't get any momentum except for the first five or 10 minutes.

"I might be a bit biased but I thought in terms of moving the ball, particularly in the first three-quarters of the game, we were the team that was doing that effectively. The Lions were taking the ball up tight, tight, tight, which, fair enough, is their strength. We just didn't seem to get that chance. Every time we got some momentum we had a penalty against us for something or other."

In the day's opening match, the Argentinians emerged victorious over a spirited Iberian side 10-5.

Diego Cuesta Silva scored the only try of the half after 10 minutes and with the conversion missed the South Americans went in at the break 5-0 to the good.

They doubled their lead after the restart but Gabi Rivero reduced the deficit to five points late on and the joint Portuguese and Spanish side made life difficult for the champions of two years ago right up until the end.

"It was very hard, very tough. Spain and Portugal have learned a lot from last year," conceded Puma Rodolfo Ventura. "We have to fix some things, it was only our first game but we have to work on some things."

Asked what it was that enabled the Argentinians to come out on top, he said: "I think we had a little more experience and thought a little more about the match."

As for championship aspirations, Ventura said his team could not look that far ahead yet.

"I think we have to go step by step. We have things we need to improve on and we have to think about those in our next two games and go step by step," he said.

On Sunday, a much-improved Bermuda side were kept in check by the tournament favourites from New Zealand.

The All Blacks ran out convincing 30-10 winners, but the try of the game was reserved for home captain Bobby Hurdle who ran from deep inside the opposition half, evaded the desperate pursuit of the last man and crossed the try-line to rapturous applause.

"I was watching him come in but I knew I could make it," Hurdle said afterwards. "I was a little bit tired afterwards but it was great to have it."

The second game saw reigning champions South Africa take strides towards a successful defence of their title by defeating the USA 39-12.