PARIS—South Africa issued a sharp reminder that they are real contenders for the World Cup with a dual display of power and agility in their 59-7 thrashing of Samoa on Sunday.
The Springboks stood toe to toe with the Pacific Islanders in a brutal Pool A clash in Paris but eventually pulled clear with the help of four tries for flying wing Bryan Habana.
Their display, following the heavy-duty victories of New Zealand and Australia on Saturday, contrasted markedly with the northern hemisphere contenders who all struggled to subdue lowly-rated opponents.
Wales trailed Canada 17-9 early in the second half of their Pool B encounter in Nantes but the introduction of old hands Stephen Jones and captain Gareth Thomas inspired them to run in 33 unanswered points to prevail 42-17.
Jones, in his first appearance for four months, helped spark a five-try blitz in 15 minutes, including two for winger Shane Williams, that will have put the Welsh in better heart for next week's clash with Australia in Cardiff.
Ireland also made heavy weather of beating Namibia, leaking two late tries in an unimpressive 32-17 Pool D victory in Bordeaux.
The west Africans lost 64-7 to Ireland four years ago and also went down 142-0 to Australia but were far more competitive this time and were able to celebrate well-made scores by Jacques Nieuwenhuis and Piet van Zyl after the break.
Scotland scored four tries in each half for a slightly ragged 56-10 success over debutants Portugal in St Etienne where Portuguese winger Pedro Carvalho had the honour of scoring his country's first World Cup points when he grabbed a try after 30 minutes.
Habana was the star of a gripping show at the Parc des Princes, equalling Chester Williams' national World Cup record set against Samoa in 1995.
Coach drools
His first try, a weaving effort through five defenders, left coach Jake White drooling.
"He's a special, special player, no doubt," said White. "That was at a crucial moment of the game and his finish was superb. Those are the players who make the difference between losing and winning big games."
Fullback Percy Montgomery grabbed two tries and kicked 19 points but the forwards should also take some plaudits for matching the Samoans tackle for tackle and punch for punch in a series of awesome collisions that had 50,000 people wincing.
There was some bad news for the Springboks though as centre Jean De Villiers sustained an arm injury that makes him doubtful for Friday's clash with England.
On the evidence of the teams' contrasting opening performances, South Africa should cruise that match and Samoa too will fancy their chances.
Their centre Brian Lima joined Sunday's fray on the hour to become the first player to take part in five World Cups.
After eight games over the opening weekend the tournament takes a break on Monday before the action resumes in Lyon on Tuesday when Argentina take on Georgia.
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