How favorites fared?

England looks strongest following first round

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Posted: Monday October 04, 1999 06:10 PM

Danny Grewcock (center) and the English rugby team had no trouble defeating Italy in their first-round match. England led 34-7 at halftime. Shaun Botterill/Allsport

ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- The opening weekend of the Rugby World Cup is over, and all the teams have played once. The first match to kick off, between host Wales and Argentina, took place after an opening ceremony in which the roof rolled back and fireworks went off. There was more fighting on the pitch than spirited rugby.

The Northern Hemisphere's favorite, England, began its campaign well when it trashed Italy at Twickenham on Saturday 67-7.

Although the three favorites from the Southern Hemisphere also won their matches -- the manner in which they did so was less than convincing.

Even though Australia beat Romania 57-9, one would have expected the Wallabies to win by even more. Nineteen Romanian players opted out of the tournament over a pay dispute and there was a decided second-rate look to the team.

Tournament favorites New Zealand took on Tonga in its initial match. Due to sloppy ball handling and general ineptitude the All Blacks failed to live up to expectations. However, New Zealand came back after the break to show why its the favorite, as it extended its halftime four-point lead easily winning 45-9.

Defending champion South Africa was up against stiffer competition, trailing the Scots at the half 16-13. However, it was entertaining rugby from both sides and the Springboks successfully completed several very practiced moves as they went over for a total of six tries to win the match 46-29.

 

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