Sport

Charron makes painful exit as Canadians record first victory

Canada 24 Tonga 7 Canada's captain Al Charron made a painful exit from the international stage last night

Ian Malin in Wollongong
Thu Oct 30 2003 - 00:00

Canada 24 Tonga 7Canada's captain Al Charron made a painful exit from the international stage last night. The 37-year-old forward, who recovered from knee surgery to play in his fourth World Cup, was knocked cold 10 minutes from full-time here in Wollongong by a tackle from the Tongan outhalf Pierre Hola.

He will remember little of what was his and coach Dave Clark's final game.

The referee Alain Rolland saw little wrong but the citing commissioner is sure to give the tackle, in which Hola's shoulder connected with Charron's head, a second look today.

"He was hit very hard and I think he's going to need about 740,000 stitches in his mouth," Clark said. "Al was the heartbeat of the team and it is going to take two or three people to fill his shoes."

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Canada deserved their first victory. Their defence was unyielding and their veteran out-half Bob Ross used the coastal wind to good effect in the opening half, when he kicked three of his four penalties.

Ross also created the crucial try for his wing Sean Fauth after the break. Aaron Abrams settled the issue when he was driven over from a lineout late on.

Tonga, as usual, competed well before running out of steam in the second half. Their captain Inoke Afeaki scored their try after 15 minutes from a driving maul. Before the match there was a replay of their victory over Australia 30 years ago.

After that game Tonga's Fatai Kefu, the father of the Wallabies' Toutai and Steve, went to play rugby in Queensland, the start of a drift of Pacific island players to Australia and New Zealand. How the Tongans could have done with the Kefus, not to mention Jonah Lomu, since then.

CANADA: Fyffe (Pritchard, 76); Fauth, Witkowski (Smith, 28), Di Girolamo, Stanley; Ross, Williams (Fairhurst, 76); Snow (Tkachuk, h-t), Lawson, Cooke, Charron (capt; Abrams, 69), James (Yukes, 68), Cudmore (Reid, 62), Van Staveren, Jackson.

TONGA: Leger (Palu, 66); Fifita, J Ngauamo (Hufanga, 47), Payne, Fonua (Vaki, h-t); Hola, Martens; Lea'aetoa, Taukafa (Ma'asi, 60), Lavaka (Tonga, 55), M Ngauamo, Afeaki (capt), Naufahu (Fenukitau, 56), Tu'amaheloa, Kivalu (Latu, 76).

Referee: A Rolland (Ireland).