RUGBY:Only the next 47 matches and 43 days will prove whether the sixth Rugby World Cup will be the best, but last night's curtain-raiser was certainly the most sensational opening so far.

The one slight drawback to the tournament was that the hosts didn't so much lift off as hit the ground with a thud; the brief outbreak of catcalls from the vast majority of the 79,312 crowd which greeted Argentina's stunning 17-12 win in the Stade de France confirming as much. Instead pockets of Puma supporters were left celebrating in splendid isolation.

The flip side of that coin is that France will be one seriously wounded animal when they meet Ireland in Group D's next pivotal collision on September 21st in the same ground and two late missed penalties by Felipe Contepomi meant they preserved a bonus point which could yet prove crucial.

Only once before had the hosts been beaten in an opening game, when England lost to the All Blacks in 1999, but this one hadn't been scripted.

Typically cussed and resilient, Argentina made 110 tackles to 60 and at times scrambled for their lives. France had the stronger lineout, the more potent maul, even shoved the famed Pumas' scrum off their own five-metre put-in, and cranked up the tempo in the second half, but otherwise they were afflicted with opening-night nerves.

Physically, Argentina were stronger in contact, and the more inspired minds and wits were also invariably Argentinian, whether it be intercepts, blockdowns or livewire turnovers.

Without anything like the bench or depth that France possess, how they sustained such courage, concentration and heart for 80 minutes was phenomenal.

All their old warriors were immensely better than their French counterparts, none more than hooker Mario Ledesma and captain and scrumhalf Agustin Pichot, playing in his fourth World Cup.

"I think we are not the best tactically, but our strength is the passion and the pride we bring to the jersey," said Pichot. "Rugby is a very simple sport and you have to play it 90 per cent with your heart. Thanks to French rugby, a lot of our players are able to play in France; they took us in as their sons. We've a lot of respect for France and we gave them respect by playing to 100 per cent. This team has a hunger to write history." A remarkable hunger.

Looking to the remainder of the pool, and Argentina's concluding game with Ireland, Pichot said: "Every match will be a completely different story. We have to see how we gel and how Ireland gels, and how we reach that game. Maybe Ireland will be a little less predictable (than France). They play very good rugby and I can imagine it will be as hard as today."

French coach Bernard Laporte's conservative selections and tactics will be ruthlessly scrutinised. He maintained afterwards that his team didn't handle the pressure in failing to produce the form of their warm-up games.

"It's a qualification game in reality. We did everything in preparation but it's decided on the pitch. We were not at the level we needed to be; we couldn't keep the ball, we couldn't make our passes."

Leinster's brilliant doctor Felipe Contepomi had the honour of scoring the competition's first points with a fifth-minute penalty and kept them ahead with three more by the break.

His brother and twin Manuel played a key part in the turnover, 26th-minute try scored by Ignacio Corletto.

The painfully ponderous and nervous, error-strewn performance by David Skrela contrasted sharply with that of his Stade Français teammate Juan Hernandez, who launched an aerial bombardedment at the French back three.

Cometh the hour, cometh Sebastien Chabal, the distinctive cult hero of French rugby. The crowd chanted his name as soon as his introduction was signalled by his appearance on the big screen. His every charge met with a roar, but the Pumas kept felling him like a tree. Skrela departed, prompting the introduction of Freddy Michalak, the darling of French rugby.

Immediately he put more pace, variety and invention on France's game but, having earned a penalty with his own kick and chase, he promptly steered it wide. With that, the French storm blew out, though the bonus point they preserved courtesy of two late missed penalties by Contepomi could yet be crucial.

Even efforts to turn the country into an army of 66 million people in blue fell some way short of the mark. On this writer's TGV journey from Bordeauxto Paris, I counted three people wearing French sports jerseys. Save for the Eiffel Tower, adorned with an inflated rugby ball and lit up at night time in the colours of the World Cup, you'd hardly have sensed there was even a match on.