Canada 25 Tonga 20:CANADA COACH Kieran Crowley was bursting with pride after his mainly amateur team beat Tonga yesterday but almost as unhappy at how little time they have to prepare for their next game.

Much has been made of how competitive the second-tier nations have been over the first few matches of the tournament, an indication of the closing gap between the best and the rest in world rugby, according to organisers. But Canada, who overturned a seven-point deficit to win, must pick themselves up from a hugely-physical encounter for Sunday’s clash against France.

“It makes me laugh when tier-two countries have four-day turnarounds and all tier-one countries have seven-day turnarounds and eight-day turnarounds,” New Zealander Crowley said afterwards. “We knew what it was when the draw came out and we’ve tried to do some things in our preparations that have mirrored that.”

For all his dour demeanour, however, there was no hiding the pride the former All Black had in his team for their victory at the Northland Events Centre. “These guys are some of the best professionals I’ve ever worked with, they just don’t get paid,” he said. “They’ll run through a brick wall for you, they’ll die for you, and they were able to do that today.”

Crowley said he was particularly happy with how his pack performed. “The loosehead prop (Hubert Buydens) has only been playing for four years and the tighthead (Jason Marshall) for two . . . if we had regular competition, I don’t know where these boys could go to.”

Flanker Chauncey O’Toole, who plays in Wales with the Ospreys, was his only major injury concern with an ankle injury.

TONGA: Morath; Vainikolo, Piutau, Fatafehi, Helu; Moa, Palu; Taumalolo, Taukafa, Pulu, Timani, Lokotui, Maka, Vaiomounga, Vahafolau. Replacements: Iongi for Palu (70 mins), Tonga’uiha for Taumalolo (75 mins), Ma’asi for Taukafa (64 mins), Aulika for Pulu (52 mins), Kalamafoni for Timani (54 mins), Ma’afu for Vahafolau (49 mins).

CANADA: Pritchard; Hearn, van der Merwe, Smith, P Mackenzie; Monro, Fairhurst; Buydens, Riordan, Marshall, Sinclair, Cudmore, Kleeberger, O’Toole, Carpenter. Replacements: Trainor for Smith (64 mins), Hamilton for Riordan (69 mins), Franklin for Marshall (75 mins), Dala for Sinclair (75 mins), Hotson for O’Toole (32 mins).

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa).