Rugby World Cup weekend one roundup

With the first round of fixtures at the 2023 Rugby World Cup complete, let’s take a look at some of the biggest games of round one.

For a while there it looked like New Zealand would match France’s fast and physical playstyle but eventually the French ground the All Blacks down and emerged as comfortable victors. Thomas Ramos’ unerring boot and the French backrow (as well as some well-worked tries) were enough to beat Ian Foster’s misfiring All Blacks.

Much has been spoken about this New Zealand side given their recent fragilities, not something we have come to expect from All Blacks sides but they looked up for the contest after Mark Telea’s early try put them ahead. Ill discipline and France’s might proved too much in the end.

All is certainly not lost for New Zealand as they are still likely to make the quarter-finals a game against Namibia should provide them with some confidence moving forward. For France, topping the group is in their hands now as they face Uruguay, and Namibia before rounding out the group against Italy.

George Ford has always been a slightly forgotten man of English rugby, even as he has amassed 85 caps for his country. On Saturday night he made his claim for the starting jersey as he racked up all 27 points by himself with a masterful performance including three drop-goals.

For England’s opponents, Argentina, they will be disappointed with their efforts. England were reduced to 14 for 75 minutes after Tom Curry’s red card should have led to space for Los Pumas but panic set in. Suddenly what had started to become a well-oiled machine crumbled. Any semblance of a gameplan was ignored and ultimately they lost 27-7 when the game was 14 v 15.

England were slight underdogs going into Saturday night’s game, with expectations about as low as they can be for one of the bigger names in international rugby. Once the red card decision was made a few players, notably Ford, Manu Tuilagi, Alex Mitchell, Courtney Lawes and a resurgent Maro Itoje stood up and stamped their authority on the game.

South Africa’s star continues to rise following their opening-round victory against Scotland. It was certainly no demolition job as the Springboks had to work hard for their victory but ultimately this was a Scotland side not quite at the races with mistakes costing them.

Scotland will feel a little hard done by after Springbok centre Jesse Kriel’s head-on-head tackle within the first few minutes of the game looking for all the world a red card. Somehow the TMO missed it and play continued with neither player involved getting a Head Injury Assessment either.

Scotland rely so much on their quick passing game to get outside their opponent’s defensive structure. This is a difficult skill to master meaning they needed to be uber-clinical when opportunities presented themselves. Unfortunately for Finn Russell and the rest of the Scottish backs, chances were squandered and pressure was never quite exerted.

Fiji have been flying high the past two weeks coming off their first ever victory over England meaning Wales were going to need to be somewhere near their best to win. Strangely neither side looked as though they played to their potential with Fiji missing some opportunities and some refereeing going against them, whilst Wales were able to just do enough.

With just 15 minutes to go, Wales looked set to dominate the scoreline and walk away comfortable winners but Fiji’s persistence kept them in the contest until the final moments. With just seconds left, Fiji swung a pass wide to Semi Radrada, one of the best in the world, try line (and victory) beckoning, only for the centre-turned-winger to drop the pass.

Wales and Fiji sit in Pool C, alongside Australia. The opening round of fixtures has by no means decided the group, with expectations suggesting those three beating group-mates Portugal and Georgia, leading to the huge clashes of Australia v Fiji and Australia v Wales to come.

Most of the other games went about as you would expect, with Namibia falling to Italy and Ireland strutting their stuff against a Romania side that were 5-0 at one point. Australia cruised past Georgia despite losing scrum-half Tate McDermott to a concussion and Japan beat World Cup newbies Chile 42-12.

For some teams, their opening fixture saw some key players facing a spell on the treatment table. France’s hooker, Julien Marchand, looks set to miss the rest of France’s group games, whilst England’s Tom Curry will probably miss a couple of games himself following his red card. Jesse Kriel could see himself at a sighting hearing too given his head-on-head tackle.

For the most part, the opening round of games didn’t spring too many surprises but it certainly showcased how dominant some of the big players can be. South Africa were not at their best and comfortably beat Scotland whilst France powered past New Zealand. The World Cup is as open as ever and we still have six weeks to go!