The Rugby World Cup finally started this weekend, allowing fans in England to witness the greatest names in the game compete on the grandest of stages. After a wholly underwhelming opening ceremony, England fans got to see their side start the tournament, as they took on the powerful Fijians. A nation waited with baited breath, hoping the hosts would make a statement with a thumping victory over the team from the South Pacific.
What they got was a victory, and a reasonably comprehensive one at that. The performance wasn’t quite what many had been expecting though, with England making a string of mistakes, which often handed the initiative to the supposedly weaker opposition. They even nearly didn’t pick up the bonus point – awarded after scoring four tries in a game – and only got it thanks to a last gasp try from substitute Billy Vunipola. Still, the first hurdle has been navigated by England, and they’ll take on Wales in their next match.
Speaking of Wales, they had a slightly easier first match, as they took on Uruguay – the team largely expected to be the whipping boys of the group. The 54-9 victory wasn’t quite as easy as it might seem though, and Wales also suffered injury problems. Corey Allen could now miss the rest of the competition, while Liam Williams, Paul James and Samson Lee are all also injury worries.
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Ireland also opened their account with a comprehensive win over Canada. While the Canadians showed some pluckiness, they were completely outclassed by the men from the Emerald Isle, who easily ran out 50-7 victors. Johnny Sexton pulled all the strings for the Irish, and fans might be slightly more optimistic now than they were before the tournament, when they lost to both England and Wales in warm-up fixtures.
The weekend undoubtedly belonged to one team, and one team only, though. When South Africa took to the field against Japan, everyone expected a decisive and crushing victory for the Proteas. What followed goes down as the greatest upset in rugby history. A skilful, dogged and tactically astute Japanese team battled South Africa all the way, and snatched victory thanks to a last-gasp try. It was such a shock for which the South African coach felt compelled to apologise to his nation, and that caused tears of joy to flood down the faces of many Japanese supporters in the crowd. Scotland should be worried, as Japan look capable of beating almost anyone.
