Canadian skip Brad Jacobs has admitted that his curling team were not at their best during their tournament-opening win over Germany at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Monday.
Defending champions Canada fell 4-2 behind when their opponents, who are 150-1 outsiders for the event, stole two points in the third end. However, Jacobs's men eventually prevailed 11-8.
"It was pretty ugly, to be honest," Jacobs, who is competing in his first Olympics alongisde his cousins EJ Harnden and Ryan Harnden, told reporters.
"It's a different event to any regular event. There are nerves out there."
Canada went on to lose 5-4 to Switzerland in their second game in the round robin phase, but they remain the favourites to win gold, which would be their third consecutive Olympic triumph in the men's event.