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PARIS - Under the watching eyes of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, the sixth Rugby World Cup opened with a colourful ceremony at the Stade de France which reunited some of the greats of the game.
French legend Jean-Pierre Rives was greeted by the 80,000-capacity crowd with wild applause, a fine tribute to a man who won two grand slams in 1977 and 1981 but retired before the first World Cup was staged in 1987.
Italy's Diego Dominguez, Ireland veteran Keith Wood and New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu were also welcomed, their greeting outshining Australian and English World Cup winners John Eales and Steve Thompson respectively.
Argentinian fans in the stadium, waiting to see their side take on hosts France in the opening game, reserved their best voices for legendary Pumas fly-half Hugo Porta.
South Africa's Morne Du Plessis and Wales' Gareth Edwards were on hand to represent the older generation.
They were all part of a parade of the 20 greatest all-time players who filed into the stadium before a massive replica of the Webb Ellis Cup was unveiled.
On the pitch, the ceremony featured 200 dancers and music under the guidance of leading choreographer Olivier Massart.
The stadium, which played host to France's 1998 football World Cup success, started to fill up almost four hours before kick-off.
- AFP
