Lawson demands Scots step up in class despite win

The Dark Blues needed a Greig Laidlaw penalty eight minutes from time to seal a 19-17 victory in Toronto.

Coach Vern Cotter was left with much to ponder in only his second game in charge and hooker Lawson conceded that Scotland made too many errors as the hosts put them under intense pressure.

He said: "Canada were everything we expected. They play at pace and have some really good athletes.

"They really try to play rugby and have some game breakers and did manage to break us down a couple of times. On the whole, though, we held firm, especially in that second half.

"We talk about exerting pressure, but I would say we more absorbed it instead of going and getting them.

"A lot of our execution was not good enough for this level - no matter who you are playing it was not a Test match and we were not at the races in terms of execution.

"There were a lot of missed tackles and there have to be improvements there too. It is error after error.

"You miss one and then you are on the back foot and you find you are missing two or three."

Most of the players who played against Canada will now depart the tour, with the rest meeting up with those who join specifically for ties against Argentina and South Africa.

Lawson, one of those going home, admits to mixed feelings about not being able part of the second leg of the tour.

He said: "You want to be playing Test matches and it would be great to be going to Argentina and South Africa, but it is one of the regulations; that is the way it goes."

l The Welsh Rugby Union emphatically saw off a vote of no confidence following an extraordinary general meeting yesterday.

Two resolutions voted on were that the WRU board of directors had not been acting in the best interests of Welsh rugby, while a second called for a vote of no confidence in the board.

But only four club representatives voted for the no confidence resolution, with 462 opposing it and 18 abstaining.