Australia started their World Cup campaign with a record victory over Japan. The Japanese team were able to spoil and restrict the Wallabies to only a 23-3 lead at half time.

After half time the bigger physical presence of the Wallabies started to take toll and they dominated all facets of play in the second 40 minutes. The Wallabies ran in 10 tries in the second half, and 13 tries in total, to win the game by 91-3. Flanker, Rocky Elsom, scored 3 tries and fullback, Chris Latham scored twice in a very clinical display by the Wallabies.

Pre-tournament favourites, New Zealand, kicked off their World Cup campaign with an emphatic victory over Italy on Saturday.

The game was over as a contest within the first 20 minutes, with the All Blacks running in 5 tries and securing the bonus point in this time period. Italy did manage to score an intercept try but they had no answer to the class of the All Blacks. Halftime score: New Zealand 43 Italy 7

The second half followed the script of the first, with the All Blacks again running in 5 tries in a 20 minute period. A late consolation try for Italy gave them something to smile about but they just could not keep up with the pace and skill of the men in black. Star players for New Zealand included Richie McCaw, Jerry Collins and winger Doug Howlett who scored 3 tries. Final score: New Zealand 76 Italy 14

The long awaited 2007 Rugby World Cup kicked off last night with a very colourful opening ceremony that entertained the crowd thoroughly. Two hours later the opening ceremony was the only thing French supporters had to cheer about.

Argentina played with pride and passion and they were hungrier for victory than the French. These factors contributed to Argentina causing one of the biggest upsets ever in World Cup history. The men from South America took the lead early in the first half and never looked back. They scored the only try of the match in the 27th minute of the first half and went into the break 17-9 in the lead.

The second half saw some determined attacking play by the French but the Argentine defence was as solid as Fort Knox. A penalty by the French saw them close the gap to 17-12, but they could not penetrate the Argentinean defence to get the match winning score. Argentina held on for a famous victory by 17-12.

The 2007 Rugby World Cup is here and kicks of today with the opening match between the host nation, France, and Argentina. This could be a fantastic match with an Argentinean upset victory a distinct possibility. The action starts tonight at 20h20 with the opening ceremony and the game kicks of at 21h00.

Saturday sees three games with New Zealand playing Italy at 13h45, Australia take on Japan at 15h45 and England play the USA  at 18h00.

Sunday is the big day for SA supporters with the Bokke kicking off their World Cup campaign against Samoa at 16h00. Other action on Sunday includes Wales against Canada at 14h00, Scotland take on Portugal at 18h00 and Ireland play Namibia at 20h00.

These times are kick-off and live broadcast times. SARB can not be held responsible for any changes made to these times. Hope u enjoy the next two months of rugby. SARB will keep u updated with all the results and news from RWC 2007.

Jake White picked his strongest possible squad to take on Samoa this coming Sunday.

John Smit makes his return to the side and will captain a side that has played in a combined total of 609 test matches (that is just the starting XV). Jean de Villiers slots back into the inside centre position after recovering from a rib injury. JP Pietersen gets the nod for the number 14 jersey and hopefully he will silence his critics and grab this opportunity with both hands.

SA side to face Samoa: 15. Percy Montgomery, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. jean de Villiers, 11. Btyan Habana, 10. Butch James, 9. Fourie du Preez, 8. Danie Rossouw, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Bakkies Botha, 3. CJ van der Linde, 2. John Smit(captain), 1. Os du Randt

Reserves: 16. Bismarck du Plessis, 17. BJ Botha, 18. Johann Muller, 19. Wikus van Heerden, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Andre Pretorius, 22. Francois Steyn

The Bokke should expect a hard, physical encounter against the Samoans but the experience and size of the SA side should see them to a comfortable victory.

SARB would like to wish the Springboks all the best for their World Cup campaign.

The Sharks came out on top in a very scrappy game against the Lions in Durban on Saturday.

The Sharks dominated possession and territory in the first half but only had 3 penalties to show for their efforts going into the break. Handling errors by both teams and lack of discipline let to promising moves braking down.

The second half was much like the first, both teams trying to run the ball but handling errors galore made sure this was a frustrating match to watch. A dubious try by Odwa Ndugane gave the Sharks breathing space. A try by Ryan Kankowski just before the end secured the win for the Sharks and saw them maintain second place on the Currie Cup log. Final score: Sharks 21 Lions 3

It took the Bulls 25 minutes to score a try in the first half, but they came out firing in the second, securing the bonus point within 10 minutes of the restart.

The Bulls owed their supporters a good performance after their first round loss to Griquas, but their first half performance was way below par and the Bulls were only leading 13-3 at the break.

Whatever was said in the change room at half time had the desired effect because the men in blue came out firing in the second half, showing a willingness to run the ball from their inside their own half. The Bulls scored 5 more tries in the second half, including 1 by Derick Hougaard who made a personal contribution of 21 points. Griquas never stopped trying but were outclassed on the day and it’s back to the drawing board for the men from Kimberley.Final score: Bulls 46 Griquas 3