Advantage McGinley in Vivendi battle

Paul McGinley scored an early win over counterpart Thomas Bjorn with some inspired pairings and timely advice as his Britain and Ireland side took a 3-2 lead over the Continentals in the Vivendi Trophy.

McGinley put his best foot forward in ParisBjorn lamented the fact that his thoroughbred side was not ready when the gun went after an early morning arrival for the opening ceremony threw his men out of their usual routine.

"There's no excuses for not being ready, but being a Scandinavian myself a few of them I know are very set in their routines," he said.

"I could see a lot of things going on that maybe unsettled them a little bit and they maybe weren't quite ready when they stood on the first tee.

"I might not have gone over it well enough. It's a long time to be at the course at a quarter to nine if you're going to tee off after midday.

"They're not used to it and are just sitting around and end up eating breakfast three times. It's not quite what you want to do, but they should all have the experience."

Speaking to PA, opposite number Paul McGinley said:

"I told my players not to have breakfast before they left the hotel and leave as late as possible.

"There are things that upset your routines, but it's part and parcel of being a team and you've got to get used to them."

Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell led from the front for their captain, beating Søren Kjeldsen and Alvaro  Quiros 4 and 3.

McGinley said: "They were leading off my charge to the trophy - that's the role I wanted them to play and the impression I wanted to give."

As McIlroy said on Twitter: "GB&I off to a good start leading 3-2 after the first day. Played with my good buddy graeme mcdowell and we got momentum early for the side!"