Rugby World Cup: What we learned in the first round as England shocked, Ireland thrived, Wales held on and Scotland faltered | Rugby Union News

Ahead of the second round of the Rugby World Cup, we take a look at the talking points that emerged from the opening weekend…

England on the rise?

A win is a win, right? That’s how the vast majority of England fans will feel after feeling a lot of nerves about facing the Pumas in their opening match.

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Sky Sports News’ Eleanor Roper reports from Marseille as England hit back at their critics with a dominant win over Argentina in their World Cup opener

As Argentina moved up the world rankings, following their victory over England at Twickenham last year, the possibility of defeat loomed, but the 27-10 win silenced many doubters and significantly increased England’s chances of falling out of their group and into the world rankings. Quarter-finals.

Although England might want to start scoring some points from something other than George Ford’s boots, their solid defense has sent a message and now as they prepare to face Japan, head coach Steve Borthwick knows that all too well from his time as assistant coach under Eadie. Jones, they will want to see more improvement.

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England’s George Ford talks about his opening Rugby World Cup victory after scoring all 27 points in their win over Argentina

England may be without Tom Curry for their match against Japan, but Billy Vunipola’s return to the team will be welcome after his suspension and their confidence will skyrocket. Selection options are now a headache for the England coach.

“I thought George Ford was great,” Borthwick said after the game. “We can all talk about his kicks and what he did to score points but the composure and management he showed throughout.

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England coach Steve Borthwick praised the captains in his side after they beat Argentina 27-10 in their Rugby World Cup opener thanks to George Ford’s brilliant kicking display.

“Tonight [Saturday] He is another example of the great leadership in this English team. A lot has been said in the past about leadership within the England national team, but what I see is a group full of top professionals who are fantastic leaders. Like the man next to me [Courtney Lawes]“George Ford, we can discuss Jimmy George, Ellis Genge, the list goes on.”

So, with Owen Farrell sidelined for another match due to his ban, can the man exiled from this England side, who last started a Test in 2021 before Saturday, keep the skipper firmly on his toes for a place against Samoa with the Another great performance?

Ireland and France confirm their most fortunate position?

It’s difficult to compare the performance of the two teams who are favorites to win this year’s World Cup, but both have made excellent starts.

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Ireland are training ahead of their second Rugby World Cup Group B match against Tonga after beating Romania in their opening match

Ireland beat Romania in stunning fashion by a score of 82-8, confirming that their attack is something all sides should fear.

While France faced their toughest group stage match against the All Blacks in the opening match of the World Cup and showed their abilities, fighting back to a 27-13 win in front of their home crowd.

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Ireland players were delighted to start their Rugby World Cup campaign with an 82-8 win over Romania, their biggest ever win in the tournament.

The task is supposed to be easier for France when it faces Uruguay, while Ireland faces Tonga. However, Andy Farrell’s squad includes South Africa and Scotland.

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Watch the best action as France beat New Zealand 27-13 in their opening match of the Rugby World Cup

With a big test looming for France and two big tests coming up for Ireland, and with the group stage underway, we will get a clearer picture of who is really on top between these two teams or whether the Southern Hemisphere teams will be able to unseat them again.

Wales survives fear, will it get better from here?

Wales’ close result against Fiji would have been an even bigger surprise had Fiji not eliminated England for the first time at Twickenham in their last World Cup warm-up match.

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Highlights from day three of the Rugby World Cup in France, where defending champions South Africa, Japan and Wales all registered victories

The feeling was that Wales got away with one goal in their 32-26 win, leaving coach Warren Gatland fuming at his side’s lack of composure in the big moments.

“There were excellent periods and we learned, you know, with all the hard work we put in,” Gatland said.

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James Savondra reports from Bordeaux as Wales hold on for their first win of the 2023 World Cup over Fiji

“And there were some times when you were in control of the game, it was more about managing the players. And I kind of go back four or five years ago when we went through that process for the team as it was growing and developing, and it took us a while to actually be able to implement some kind of management The game, understanding it comfortably, not giving players stupid penalties and putting us under pressure.

“Then today there have been incidents like that. And as I said, we make sure we’re honest and we review that and we learn from those situations about how we manage things moving forward and everyone’s improvement.”

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Warren Gatland says his team’s match management was “stupid” during Wales’ win over Fiji in the Rugby World Cup

Now, with Portugal waiting to play their second group match, they will be hoping to excel further as a team, with tests still ahead of Australia and Georgia, who they shockingly beat in the 2022 Autumn Nations Championship.

They had a wealth of experience on their side and now they just had to use it.

Scotland are in trouble in the Group of Death as the Springboks look strong

When the World Cup groups were announced, any team in Group B was going to have a hard time. Each match between Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Tonga and Romania is a tough task, and Scotland has a lot of work to do if it wants to challenge for a place in the quarter-finals.

Their opening match loss to defending champions South Africa has weighed heavily on their hopes, but if they can beat Tonga this week and go into their final pool match against Ireland with something to play for, there’s no telling what could happen.

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Defending champions South Africa began their World Cup campaign with a win over Scotland, Sky Sports Eleanor Roper reported.

In fact, when South Africa play Ireland on September 23, this group will be even more interesting, with three big nations competing all the way to the final.

With so much pressure, Scotland will now either rise to the challenge, or lose their confidence completely after one defeat, and captain Jamie Ritchie now knows his side must win every match in Group B.

“As a group, we have three big games coming up for us,” Ritchie said.

“We can’t afford to make mistakes. The pressure is on us now. We have to hit the ground running in two weeks.

“Ireland has always been a very important game for us, but all games are must-wins now.”