Needless to say, the result pushed everyone out for a night on the town and some sore heads in the morning.
2. The opening ceremony and the All Blacks beating Tonga
The opening ceremony had it all. Firstly it wasn't too long and boring, secondly it had an inspirational child, who could fly, and special guest Jonah Lomu, who looked like the best dressed man in New Zealand.
The atmosphere for the game was electric, from the national anthems to the performance of the haka. Everyone was fully behind the All Blacks and they looked impressive going in 29-0 at half time. Tonga's hard hitting style did yield one try but the AB's where rampant much to the delight of the fans. They ended up 41-10 winners.
3. Wales pushing the 'Boks all the way
Greg and I watched the game in Queenstown in a bar - along with most of the England playing squad. They went on to write their own tabloid headlines that night, but before canoodling with backpackers they watched a great game of rugby.
Wales looked fired up and going into the final third of the game they where ahead 16-10 through a Toby Faletau try, but the Springboks sprung into life with Francois Hougaard's try and Morne Steyn's conversion right at the death giving the defending champions the victory.
Controversy rumbled on with referee Wayne Barnes, the referee all Kiwis love to hate who denied the Welsh a penalty goal which had drifted over. But the game was a great watch and the Welsh really did deserve something from the game.
4. Tonga beating the French.
One of the final group games pulled out one of the biggest surprises of the pool as Tonga beat a flagging French side in Wellington. We managed to catch the match before England's game against Scotland at Eden Park. Auckland had been buzzing all day with Tongan fans around the city, who had adorned their cars in the national colours and proceeded to drive around beeping at anyone who would notice.
The match was dominated by the bulldozing style of the Tongans, despite the French taking the lead early, they constantly made mistakes in the breakdown. Consequently Tonga benefited through the kicking of Kurt Morath, and they recorded the biggest shock in Rugby World Cup history.
5. Richie McCaw's silver cap
After over a decade of service, Richie McCaw was the first All Black ever to join the 100 club. After a convincing win against the French, Richie was called up in front of the Eden Park faithful.
Then he was presented with a magnificent silver 100th cap. It looked like a mixture of a jockey cap and something an especially rebellious public school boy would wear.
Richie as donned the cap and began to speak of his teammates and of his importance of the team. All very noble stuff, but he had a massive, silver hat on his head. It was my favourite 'comedy' moment at the Rugby World Cup.
Over the weekend, the real action begins with knockout rugby. I am certainly looking forward to it.
