Rugby World Cup 2023: Ireland Claim Record Victory Over Romania
Ireland kicked off their 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign in France with an emphatic 82-8 victory over Romania on Saturday.
The result fired Andy Farrell’s side to the top of Pool B, with their bonus point putting them one point ahead of reigning champions South Africa.
Ireland rattled in five tries to establish a 33-8 lead at the break, before crossing another seven more times in the second half to secure their biggest-ever World Cup win.
Despite the impressive nature of their performance, online bookmakers left Ireland priced at odds of 5/1 to be crowned world champions for the first time. The top Irish betting sites rate France as the 11/4 favourites to lift the trophy following their impressive 27-13 success against New Zealand.
South Africa will undoubtedly be Ireland’s biggest threat in the group stage, although their 18-3 victory over Scotland in their opening game was largely unconvincing. Ireland are a best priced 5/4 to finish top of Pool A and their clash with the Springboks on September 23 will likely determine who wins the group.
Farrell and his team will not be looking any further forward than this weekend’s game against Tonga – a fixture the bookies believe is a foregone conclusion.
Their performance against Romania was the perfect way to start the tournament, with captain Johnny Sexton leading proceedings with an excellent display.
He weighed in with 24 points including two tries on his way to surpassing Ronan O’Gara as Ireland’s record World Cup scorer. Sexton is just nine points adrift of O’Gara’s Ireland Test record of 1,083 points and will likely ease past that tally against Tonga.
Injury and suspension have kept Sexton on the sidelines since March, but he never missed a beat against the team ranked 19th in the world.
The 38-year-old is eager to end his international career by leading Ireland to their first-ever World Cup success. However, while Sexton was satisfied with the result against Romania, he believes the team still has plenty of room for improvement as the tournament progresses.
“Like I said last week during the press conference, you’ve got to go and show it,” Sexton said. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve trained hard, when it comes to the game the pressure is different, the intensity is different.
“So, I definitely needed a game for sure to test it out. I’m happy with some stuff, and not so happy with other things. Like every game, I don’t think you ever play a game where you’re 100 percent happy.
“We’ll go and review the game as individuals and as a team, we’ll enjoy tonight and enjoy watching the other games and spend time with other, and get back to work on Monday.”
Having spent six months out of action, Sexton is keen to make the most of his final opportunity to lead Ireland to the World Cup title. They have been well backed to win several previous tournaments, but have repeatedly come up short on the biggest stage.
However, with New Zealand looking a shadow of their former selves and other top teams in the midst of rebuilding, they will never have a better chance of being crowned world champions.
Ireland’s superior fitness helped them cope with the sweltering conditions at the Stade de France – a point evidenced by their strong showing in the second half. Despite having numerous veteran players in their squad, Ireland produced a statement performance against Romania.
With a massive contingent of fans backing Ireland in France, the weight of expectation on the team has never been higher. Around 60,000 Irish households registered for World Cup tickets, highlighting the massive interest in their exploits.
Following their 74-point winning margin on Saturday, Irish fans will no doubt be eying the handicap market for this weekend’s clash with Tonga. While the team faces a tougher challenge, the bookies are backing them to record another comfortable success.
Odds of 8/11 for Ireland to cover a 33.5-point handicap could attract plenty of interest given the manner of their performance over the weekend. Farrell acknowledged after the Romania game that his team recognises the importance of not taking their foot off the gas.
“They understand straight from the start with the way that they prepare, the ownership they had during the week,” Farrell said. “Points matter. We don’t know what different ramifications will happen in two, three or four weeks’ time.
“It’s important that we got off to a good start and rack up a few points, and that was the aim. To do that you have to stick to the process and I thought we did that pretty well and got our just rewards in the end.”
Ireland face Tonga in their second match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup on Saturday in Nantes.
