Rugby World Cup 2011: New Zealand v Tonga - The All Blacks Win, But Hardly In Style

And here we go again. Just less than four years from that agonising night in Paris, England fans rose with the rest of the world in expectation of what could be at the Rugby World Cup 2011. Beginning this time on the other side of the world in Auckland, New Zealand at Eden Park, the opening ceremony began proceedings with hundreds of dancers taking to the pitch in a spectacle of light and sound, complemented by the sparkle of thousands of cameras as those lucky enough to be in the stadium captured the moment. Maori Warriors in traditional dress demonstrated the origins on the now infamous Haka war dance, punctuated by increasingly infuriating ad breaks and comments from the commentary team, seemingly determined not to let you watch the ceremony. As proceedings went on, a young boy jinked his way up the field with a glowing rugby ball, wearing the colours of Christchurch, the New Zealand city that was to be England's World Cup base until that terrible earthquake struck.

After acrobatically beating dozens of defenders, the sight of the legend that is Jonah Lomu brought him to a halt, and together they approached a giant replica of what all the teams are in New Zealand for, the Webb Ellis Cup, as the now World Cup Anthem World in Union brought the show to a close with Lomu showing some fancy footwork of the dancing kind and fireworks lit up the Auckland sky. Smiling like a giddy schoolboy (and who can blame him) Prime Minister John Key declares the World Cup, open. And so to the rugby. In what was always going to be a match in keeping with the spirit in the night (or morning to those in the UK watching huddled over their cornflakes) hosts New Zealand took on Tonga. First up were the Hakas, showing some of the best dancing we will see on TV this autumn where no one gets voted off. As each nation took turns to perform their war dance, the hairs on the back of the world's collective neck rose in anticipation. New Zealand on paper are favourites to win the World Cup after 24 years of waiting, Tonga are there to make things difficult. Generally considered the weaker of the triumvirate of Pacific Island teams (Samoa and Fiji being the others), Tonga have a amateurish charm to their play. Held back by a lack of resources and choice of players, Soane Tonga'uiha of Northampton Saints fans is the most recognisable name to UK fans (though I'm guessing many are still saying "who?").

This match was always going to be a chance for New Zealand to showcase the skills they have, passing and gliding through the huge hits of Tonga. While a win was never in doubt, this game was always going to be a double edged sword for the home nation. A final score of 41-10 doesn't give credit to the All Blacks dominance, especially in the first half and was about 20 points short of the consensus total they would get. Either way, winning by loads would not raise eyebrows, while this score isn't overly impressive, given how good Tonga made them look with poor defensive organisation and weak tackling. Stealing the show was Sonny Bill Williams with a series of ridiculous offloads that will make many a neutral surprised he is not considered a starter by the New Zealand management. Similarly Israel Dagg is in a similar boat, despite enjoying a brace in this match. With a half time score of 29-3, the game was all but over and this was reflected in the second half, with many key players being withdrawn and the Kiwi foot definitiley taken off the gas. This allowed Tonga back into it, although a fancy flowing try was never on the cards with their flat, sideways, one man out passing game. Too many times they went looking for contact and impressively were made to look quite ordinary compared to the power shown by the All Black defence. After a nine minute passage of pick and go's, penalties, scrums, reset scrums and more scrums, Tonga eventually crossed the line from about half a metre for a well deserved score. However just minutes later New Zealand cut through their defence to finish off the game with another try from the rugby equivalent of 'sexy football'.

So, what have we learnt? Well despite the fact Andy Gomarsall is at risk of joining the Alan Shearer school of sports analysis, in all honesty, not a huge amount. When given time and space, the All Blacks will rip you to shreds, but we knew that. I did notice a few too many handling errors, with number 9 Jimmy Cowan particularly cuplable. I wouldn't expect him to start the enxt game on this form. Similarly, and maybe controversially, I don't think Sonny Bill Williams will start. Despite an awesome first half display, a couple of those failed offloads would have been mercilessly punished by one of the top teams and as good as he is at getting people of their seats, New Zealand are at the World Cup to win, not entertain. This could mean a more pragmatic team selection, but we'll see. The post match comments and faces of the management suggest the All Blacks camp isn't too impressed with this effort, and I think rightly so. Their next game is Japan which they should be beating by over 60 points as a minimum. The risk is if they don't have to play a decent opposition until the knock out games, like in 2007, they may not be ready for it, as strange as that may sound. Tonga have Canada next up with a paltry 4 day turnaround ( an IRB gripe for another day), a game they will be targeting and will no doubt be putting in as many big hits as possible.

So there we have it, one game down, 47 to go with the next big game, England vs. Argentina! "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot....." @jeffreyball