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Rugby World Cup: England, Ireland and Italy all win on day three – video highlights

Dizzying Rugby World Cup opening leaves referees and players in a spin

This article is more than 4 years old
Robert Kitson

The opening weekend of the tournament put officials in the spotlight and showed the value of tactical versatility

The opening week of a Rugby World Cup is always a blur of first impressions and fast-changing perceptions but, by anyone’s standards, Japan has been something else. It is not the world’s biggest rugby tournament alone that has been widening visitors’ horizons, in a dizzying, delightful and occasionally disorientating few days.

Such unfamiliarity may just go some way towards explaining why some teams have underperformed in their opening games. Aside from a slick-looking Wales, New Zealand and Ireland, the beneficiaries of a horribly poor display by Scotland, a number of teams have taken a little time to get going.

Referees appear a little confused, too. In an era of easily-available screengrabs and instant social media comment, there is unprecedented scrutiny on them, making their job even harder. That said, it already feels as if this tournament will stand and fall on how effectively the officiating teams can police the offside line, monitor cynical off-the-ball obstruction and penalise blatant breakdown offences.

In all three areas there have already been high-profile examples of crucial offences going unpunished. Australia’s Michael Hooper cleared out one ruck against Fiji from such a ridiculously illegal entry point he risked being reported under the trade descriptions act by every gate manufacturer in Asia. The All Blacks captain Kieran Read cynically taking out Pieter-Steph du Toit, Louis Picamoles transforming the course of the France v Argentina game from a clearly offside position … if it continues there will be total anarchy.

Rugby World Cup: Key moments as New Zealand, France and Australia win – video highlights

Certain coaches and players are also adjusting quicker than others to the necessity of amending tactics mid-game when circumstances demand it. The All Blacks’ win over South Africa was a particular object lesson; having found themselves in early trouble, pinned back by the Bok rush defence, New Zealand identified an alternative exit route and had turned the tables within the space of a few minutes. The artful kick-passes of Richie Mo’unga and the counterattacking of Beauden Barrett and Sevu Reece from deep were the sign of a team thinking smarter than most under the cosh. Steve Hansen has not been involved in successive World Cup triumphs by accident.

This is not to say South Africa were one-dimensional – their initial surge would have broken many teams – but it was a timely lesson to Handre Pollard and the Boks’ other on-field leaders that the landscape can change very rapidly. While the Boks did mount a valiant attempted fightback their early control proved much harder to replicate once the pace of the game increased. Their box-kicking game is fine as far it goes but territory and possession alone are no longer the only thing that decide international matches.

Unless Eddie Jones’s England were deliberately holding back against Tonga, they also need to reflect on what did and did not work for them during their underwhelming opening fixture inside the Sapporo Dome on Sunday. Nullifying opponents defensively is all very well but against sides who tackle stoutly they need to vary their point of attack more widely, concede significantly fewer penalties and play slightly more with their heads up. As Wales demonstrated against Georgia it is never too early in any big tournament to execute precisely, handle surely and play deliberately to space, wherever it happens to be.

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Power, in short, will count for a lot at this World Cup – Scotland certainly need to rustle some up some more gainline presence from somewhere – but so will a certain flexibility of mindset. Only those squads who adjust rapidly to the unique challenges of this World Cup will prosper in the days and weeks ahead.

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