Classic Lions 14 Canada 12The Classic Lions breathed a collective sigh of relief after scraping past Canada by the skin of their teeth in their opening game of the World Rugby Classic last night.Trailing 14-7 with just seconds of the enthralling match remaining, Canada earned themselves a lifeline when Dan Harlow sprung over the line for a try near the posts.With Canada requiring the bonus points to draw level with the Lions, the National Sports Centre descended into silence as John Graff stepped up for the awkward conversion, made all the more difficult by the windy conditions.Fortunately for those Lions supporters who had spurred their team on all game with their rendition of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot the England rugby anthem Graff’s kick never threatened the posts.“It was a very tight game and could have gone either way,” admitted Lions coach Allan Martin, who won 34 caps for Wales.“You have to give Canada credit, though, because they threw everything at us and we were fortunate the scrape the win.”“It was a very difficult conversion as the wind here is treacherous. I can’t say anything more than that we were fortunate.”Canada’s early dominance was rewarded in the 17th minute when pacey winger Joe Haley found fly half Jeff Williams who powered through the middle to score a try that Haley then converted.Lions, without the services of England World Cup winner Josh Lewsey who pulled a hamstring days before the team were due to fly, spent much of the remainder of the half camped on the Canada try line but couldn’t force the breakthrough.Canada’s watertight defence was finally breached on 42 minutes when Andrew Howell crashed over the line for a try that Ben Breeze converted.The Canucks then found themselves behind less than two minutes later when Welsh centre Daffyd James scored following more sustained pressure and Breeze’s conversion put the Lions 14-7 up.With just seconds on the clock, Harlow set up a grandstand finish when he dived over to reduce the deficit to just two points but Graff was unable to kick the conversion required to tie the game.“A win is a win and that’s the way it goes in competitions,” added Martin. “You can win by one point and lose by one point, and we managed to sneak it this time.“This was our first game as a side and we will only get better after this.”Australia 45 Italy 7The Classic Wallabies proved far too strong for an ageing Italy side who enjoyed plenty of possession but were lacking in clinical edge.Australia, whose side included rugby league legends Andrew Johns and Brad Fitler, seemed capable of scoring at will against Italy, making only their second appearance at the Classic.It was Fitler who opened the floodgates for the Aussies after four minutes, although his fellow former rugby league star Johns missed the conversion.James Herbert then added a second try for the Classic Wallabies ten minutes later with Johns making no mistake this around.Some ruthless wing play then saw Jay Harvelu increase their advantage, and with Johns off the field receiving treatment, Fitler stepped up to convert to make it 19-0.Peter Playford scored Australia’s fourth try before the break with Johns missing the conversion, and after the restart Garrick Morgan added another with Nick Reilly booting home.Further tries from Damon Murphy and Playford gave Australia and unassailable 38-0 lead before Italy’s Fabio Faggiotti intercepted a loose pass from Reilly to cross under the posts.