Rugby World Cup begins!

I can only imagine what the atmosphere across New Zealand must have been like this morning (evening NZ time, of course) as the World Cup finally kicked off after what seems like months of waiting, anticipating and wondering whether the All Blacks might 'choke' yet again. Unsurprisingly, Eden Park was packed to the rafters, although not entirely with All Black fans - I do hope that the other matches will also play to large crowds.

To the match itself: NZ vs Tonga seemed on paper to be a fairly easy start for the hosts, facing the weakest of the Pacific Island teams, and the first half certainly went that way, with two tries apiece for Kahui and Dagg. Tonga stepped up in the second half, though, and managed to score a consolation try with a series of pick-and-gos on the All Black line.

NZ were not at their fluent best, as a number of passes failed to go to hand. There were a few too many knock-ons, scrappy passes and conceded turnovers for Graham Henry, or the All Black fans, to be entirely happy. More clinical teams than Tonga would have punished these. When it did click, though, they once again looked as though they could score from anywhere, at a moment's notice, even from scrappy ball - the Ma'a Nonu try in the second half was a great example of this. It did make for a fairly free-flowing game, though: there were few penalties or lineouts and comparatively few scrums.

Tonga weren't as physical as I was expecting them to be. Sure, there were some big hits, but there were far too many bigger misses, with defenders flying up out of the line and then missing their tackles completely. Even when they made tackles, NZ were able to make a couple of metres, and to get quick ball from the rucks. By contrast, NZ were stopping Tonga in their tracks and driving them backwards, then slowing the ball down so that it came back at a crawl. If World Cups are indeed won by defence, the All Blacks have put down a decent marker.

Israel Dagg, whom I had not seen before, had a storming game. He seemed to be everywhere, showed deft hands and a powerful right boot, and was in the right place at the right time for his tries. Not only that, but he brought extra spark and creativity to a back line that, admittedly, is already fairly rich in these. I think he's done enough to keep the legend Mils Muliaina out of the starting line-up. The other standout player for me was Jerome Kaino, whose work-rate was immense and was rewarded with a superb try under the posts.

So all in all, not a bad opening game. I do think that the other big games this weekend: England/Argentina and Wales/South Africa are likely to be more intense matches and in that respect more exciting - check back here for more on those matches!