Ireland prop Tony Buckley grabbed one of his side's three tries in their tour opener in Vancouver © Getty Images

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Ireland coach Declan Kidney was able to reflect on a few positives after seeing his side stutter to a 25-6 win over Canada in their summer tour opener in Vancouver.

With six debutants in the starting line-up and a further five on the bench, Kidney was hoping Ireland's next generation would take flight at the wonderfully named Thunderbird Stadium. But coming up against a spirited Canadian side, the tourists never really got out of second gear and were made to scramble for the win after Canada had closed the gap to 7-6 at one stage.

"There was a lot of things in our performance we know we'd like to get better. We were trying things - that's what pleased me," said Kidney. "As long as we keep trying things, we will try and work the positive out of that. We didn't go back into our shells.

"We must give credit to Canada. They are an improving side. They put us under a lot of pressure and retained the ball for long periods of time."

Barry Murphy's 18th-minute try, created by a chip to the corner from debutant Darren Cave, was the highlight of a dull first half. The Irish squad may have been sprinkled with newcomers but in Peter Stringer, Rory Best, Mick O'Driscoll and Denis Leamy, they had an experienced spine that should have controlled matters better.

Knock ons, poor decision-making and a lack of midfield thrust saw Ireland frustrated and Canada gain in confidence. James Pritchard's second penalty of the encounter came after a solid start to the second half for the Canucks.

At 13-6, DTH van der Merwe made a breakthrough Ireland's centre that could so easily have led to a try, but his support runners lacked pace and just moments later Ireland were over for their second try. That was the turning point, Kidney agreed afterwards, as Ryan Caldwell and Niall Ronan started a counter-attack out of their 22 which ended with new centre Ian Whitten dotting down.

The score broke Canadian hearts and Ireland, with the pressure easing off, began to work through the phases and find their feet in attack, albeit with just one more try from prop Tony Buckley.

"The game probably hinged on that one incident in the second half when Canada were breaking down towards the right corner and our defence managed to hold up, get a bit of a turnover and there was a 14-point swing in the game," Kidney added.

Tour captain Rory Best praised the Canadians for making it a difficult day at the office for his side. "We were under no illusions that it was going to be a tough game. We knew we had to take every chance we had," he said. "It's very abrasive rugby (here). You certainly know that when you get their defensive line is coming at you."

Ireland head to California for next Sunday's clash with the Eddie O'Sullivan-coached US Eagles, while Canada will lick their wounds before taking on Wales in Toronto in six days' time.

Disappointed with the Irish result but happy that his players are going in the right direction, Canadian coach Kieran Crowley said: "We had some good patches but we chucked a few balls away. It was a 13-6 game and we gave away a sin-bin and gave away 12 points. You can't do that at this level.

"There were some good parts. We were positive in a lot of areas. The guys have committed and we are a lot better at things. There is improvement going on and we just need to keep building on that."