Sep07
07
France vs. Argentina - The World Cup Kicks Off
I’m going to try my hand at sports writing over the next few weeks. Perhaps just to deal with the emotional rollercoaster I’m bound to endure - if tonight’s opening match of the 2007 Rugby World Cup was anything to go by.
The Pumas won it at the anthems. There was something about the way they sang (regardless of how off-key it was) that would have struck fear into the hearts of even the mighty All Blacks. They were focused, intent and under-awed by the pomp and ceremony preceding the match which, it must be said, is not saying much as this was arguably the worst opening ceremony to any major tournament I’ve ever seen in my life. Perhaps, in retrospect, the Tricolores failed on embarrassment after watching their multi-coloured, quasi-American Football, Tour de France-helmeted, dodgy-shorts-wearing countrymen prancing aimlessly around the Stade de France for 30 mins.
The match itself got off to a cracking start and never let up. The Argentinians took measured risks going forward (which more often than not paid dividends) and imperious in defence throughout. Truth be told, the scoreline could’ve read differently to the eventual 17-12 Argentinian victory.
Pity about referee Tony Spreadbury, who landed up being the only real skidmark on this cotton surface. He made some shocking decisions both ways, although the French probably did get the short end of his whistle. Still, multiple unforced handling errors and a complete inability to cross their own advantage line with ball in hand meant the Cockerels were never really in the game and will need to do some serious introspection before facing Namibia. Although I doubt they’ll be too nervous about that.
Augustin Pichot, the wily captain of the Pumas, said it best in his post-match interview: “We may not be the best kickers and passers, but we played with heart”. If heart wins rugby games, we may yet be in the running for this thing 
Wow. This is going to be one heck of a World Cup, whether we play well or not. What a great game!
[...] disaster (looking from a French perspective), I had to pick up the keyboard. Have to agree with Mike, the opening ceremony was not good at all - that is the bit I saw since I left half way to go [...]
Great game, I must say… I’m kinda rooting for Ireland in this group though, so now Ireland has to beat the French too if they want to go through.
How terrible was the opening ceremony? Probably the worst I’ve ever seen.
Opening ceremony….rediculous! It looked like it might have been sponsored by Microsoft Windows. It was nice to see the legends brought out, but even they looked a little embarassed. Maybe the same same guy who designed the new England kit designed the ceremony. Not good in either case.
The game….Pumas deserved the win. They have developed so much over the last few years. A little sloppy at times, but they still kept the ball alive. Well done, well deserved. Heart can win games. Lack of it will definitely lose the game.
The small countries seem to play with a lot more heart than the established nations.
And how about Namibia last night? That was also an amazing performance. Great to see Ireland cheer them from the field after the game.
Before the RWC started I felt it was wrong having all those team like Namiba, Japan etc play against the likes of NZ, Australia etc but now I’m actually looking forward to watching all their games. There’s something about watching an underdog perform that makes one feel good about the world
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