What an opening weekend of the Rugby World Cup it was. After what seemed like an eternity, the ‘fight for Bill’ began with a wonderful opening ceremony.
The rest of the weekend saw the All Blacks breeze past Tonga with a great opening half, the brave minnows (Japan’s performance against France was all heart) fight the big boys and the Wallabies open their tournament with a very good win against the bruising Azzuri.
So what do we take from the opening weekend of the Cup? I’d say that the Wallabies and the All Blacks are the front-runners at the moment.
The Wallabies were bruised up in the first half by the Italians, but came away with a 32-6 win. The Azzuris had done their homework on Genia and had him under padlocks for most of the game.
But the talented Wallabies backs then took over the game, with Digby Ioane and James O’Connor (who came off the bench) leading the points-scoring charge.
The Wallabies’ backs are crucial to how far they can go in this tournament.
Led by the pairing of Cooper and Genia, the fast-bruising Ioane and the flair of Beale and O’Connor, a whole lot will rest on those players.
The All Blacks, themselves, are off to a good start with a 41-10 win over Tonga.
A 29-point opening half from the All Blacks was more than enough to secure the points. Tonga, to their credit, got points on the board. The All Blacks are in a very strong position, I feel.
Sonny Bill Williams has the potential to be a huge star of the game and Israel Dagg is an excellent choice at full-back over Muliaina.
I think they are also wary and cautious of the early games. The All Blacks coaching staff would know that the World Cup isn’t won in the group stages and they will take a view of rotating the side.
Muliaina is slated to play this week’s game against Japan, and superstar Dan Carter will more than likely miss as well.
No need to rush right now with the All Blacks until the finals stage.
England and South Africa, both struggled in their matches against Argentina and Wales respectively.
England were very lucky to escape with a 13-9 win over the Pumas. To their credit, they played a good final 10 minutes.
It also must be said Wilkinson had a horrible night at goal under the roof. Toby Flood will more than likely take the number 10 from the old Wallabies enemy.
South Africa also fell over the line with a 17-16 win over Wales.
Both England and South Africa had difficult games, but all that matters is the points at this stage. The World Cup is a long tournament and the best team at the end wins it.
I wouldn’t be reading too much into both sides’ performances this early on.
This is going to be a very exciting tournament, and can’t wait to see what else is in store. Enjoy your rugby folks!
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