Halfback Jamison Gibson-Park celebrated his late call-up to the Maori All Blacks with two tries in a comprehensive 40-15 win over Canada in Toronto.The vastly experienced Piri Weepu was a late withdrawal after tweaking a knee, but the Maori lost little as they ran in six tries in front of a vocal 22,000 crowd at a sold-out BMO Field.
The Kieran Crowley-coached Canadians started brightly, winger Jeff Hassler crossing after five minutes when a disorganised Maori All Blacks scrum lost possession inside their own 22.
It didn’t take long for the Kiwis to reply, former All Black winger Zac Guildford dotting down in the corner after quick hands shifted the ball wide.
But the Maori All Blacks couldn’t add to that 12th-minute try until the half-hour mark neared, Gibson-Park picking up his first after Canada lost possession with sloppy work at the lineout.
Fullback Robbie Robinson added the third five minutes from halftime, making the initial break then linking with his forwards before slicing through some poor Canadian defence to give the Maori a 19-5 lead at the break.
Gibson-Park picked up his second 10 minutes after the restart. Guildford pounced on the loose ball with Canada hot on attack, before linking with Robinson who hared down the left touchline and offloaded inside for the 21-year-old halfback to score.
The Canadians grabbed one back as 60 minutes ticked over, skipper Aaron Carpenter barrelling over from a strong lineout drive to narrow the Maori lead to nine.
Super subs Matt Proctor and Nick Barrett added tries in the last 10 minutes as the Maori All Blacks dominated possession and territory against the tiring Canadians.
They travel to Philadelphia for next Monday’s game against the United States.
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