Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

The Rugby World Cup has well and truly arrived for Sideline Sid. Along with volunteer duty at the Rotorua International Stadium, back-to-back games on Sky on both Saturday and Sunday made for long days and nights of compulsory viewing.

What a success that the organisers made of the opening ceremony on Friday night. The interaction between the young boy and Jonah Lomu set out in simple terms the rugby journey from youth to legend in our country.

While there was heaps of criticism of the All Blacks performance against Tonga, the other major contenders of South Africa, Australia and England, didn't fare any better in their opening matches with some stuttering performance, in spite of their final score lines.

Anyone who bet (at the TAB) that there would be a draw at halftime in the Australia vs Italy game would have needed a wheelbarrow to take their winnings home.

Also if the touch judges and referees hadn't left their glasses at home in the Wales match-up with South Africa, determining that a penalty goal didn't go over the crossbar, Wales would have achieved the first major upset of the tournament.

Coupled with England having a real struggle with Argentina – the question must be asked why the heavyweights struggled somewhat in their first-up games.

In my humble opinion, the World Cup brings out the very best in the so-called minnows, who play out of the skins on the world stage.

Many of the lower ranked sides in the 2011 RWC have battled through qualifying competitions in far-flung places, with little media coverage.

Arrival in New Zealand has seen the players treated like rock stars, with accommodation and transport to match.

Teams such as Georgia, Russia, USA and Canada, where rugby is far from the national sport, and receives little media attention, have suddenly been thrust into the spotlight of the biggest sporting tournament ever held in New Zealand.

In what looks to be David and Goliath battles in the formbook will see David rise up and as the well-used cliché says, 'punch above their weight”.

There are plenty of intriguing battles to look forward to in pool play before post section rugby arrives at the beginning of October.

Wednesday bring the second game to the Rotorua Stadium, when Namibia makes its second appearance against Samoa.

Stadium Rotorua lived up to its billing last Saturday as the one of the best provincial rugby grounds in the country when Namibia went head-to-head with Fiji.

A brilliant spring day awaited the 10,000-12,000 spectators that streamed to the ground.

While there is plenty of security on show, and behind the scene, the long prepared game day plans worked effortlessly on the day.

Expect the unexpected is an early catchcry from the tournament.

The three successive field goals from Namibia early in the match against Fiji is testament to the unusual.

The cup recommences on Wednesday with Rotorua again taking centre stage. Namibia will run on to the immaculately groomed Stadium for the second time – to face-off against Samoa who will be making their RWC entrance.

One of the joys of the early stages of the Rugby World Cup has been the open running rugby with teams chancing their hand at every opportunity.

This is how rugby should be played.

Go the All Blacks.