Rugby World Cup 2023: What happened during the opening weekend?

The Rugby World Cup may only have got underway in Paris on Friday but there's already been plenty of drama at the tournament.

There were stunning tries, plenty of drop-goals and even red card controversy.

Host nation France kicked-off the tournament with an impressive 27-13 win over three-time champions New Zealand.

The first weekend also saw all the home nations play their first matches, here's how they got on..

Which team are you supporting? What's been your favourite moment of the rugby World Cup so far? Let us know in the comments below!

Ireland

The world's number one ranked side kicked off their Rugby World Cup campaign in style with a huge 82-8 win over Romania.

In fact, Ireland's 74-point victory was their biggest ever in a World Cup fixture.

In addition, Johnny Sexton marked his return as captain following a six-month injury absence by setting a new record too.

He grabbed 24 points, including two tries, to become Ireland's all-time World Cup points scorer - and is now only nine points shy of Ireland's national record tally.

His appearance also meant he became the oldest rugby player to represent Ireland at the age of 38 years and 58 days.

After the match Sexton said he was "delighted to be back" and that the team were happy with the result but they need to keep their focus.

"We're very, very happy with five points and a good points difference as well, which could matter at the end of the pool.

"But there's lots to improve on, both individually and as a team, and we know the challenge next week (Tonga in Nantes) is going to be up a couple of levels," he added.

England

England also played their first match on Saturday, as they faced Argentina in Marseille.

England played the majority of the game with just 14 men, after Tom Curry was sent off for a clumsy clash of heads after just three minutes.

It was the first time an England player had been sent off in a World Cup match.

However, George Ford was on fine form as he kicked three drop-goals and six penalties to secure a 27-10 victory.

He told ITV that despite England going into the tournament with just four wins in their last 13 matches, the team felt positive.

Ford explained: "We have had a bit of a rocky build-up to this World Cup but I think in the last 10 days there has been a different feeling to the place.

"It is only game one and we will look to build next week."

Scotland

Scotland's World Cup started with a 18-3 loss to South Africa.

The Springboks are the reigning world champions and proved too tough a team for Scotland to beat.

The first half was close between the two sides with South Africa holding onto a slim 6-3 lead at half time.

However two quick Springbok tries in three minutes saw South Africa take control of the game in the second half and there was no way back for Scotland from then on.

The result means that Scotland now face an uphill battle to reach the quarter-finals.

Coach Gregor Townsend praised his side's first half performance but admitted the team made too many mistakes after the break.

"We defended well in the first half, we then grew into the game and the set-piece," he said.

"We felt we could kick on in the second half. They won the third quarter hands down and a lot of that was down to their good play and our inaccuracy," Townsend added.

Wales

It was a thrilling game in Bordeaux, as Wales survived a late scare to beat Fiji 32-26.

Wales built up a 16-point second-half lead, but Fiji produced a fightback which saw them scoring two late tries.

They also had a huge chance to score a potentially important third try in the final play of the game but Fiji dropped the ball, handing victory to Wales.

After the match, Wales head coach Warren Gatland expressed his happiness with the win.

"I think it's pretty significant for us. Fiji had probably gone into the game as favourites and with everyone expecting them to win.

"I was delighted with the result, I thought there were lots of positives," he added.