"More than 85,000 spectators watched the opening eight group games, with England's 69-7 thrashing of the United States attracting a peak TV audience of 2.4m. Meanwhile France's 24-0 win over Italy also broke records with 3.2m watching on TF1 in France. But the difference in standards was also evident with the average margin of victory in the first round of matches being 47 points."
"These matches are going to get tighter and tighter as we get through the pools and into the knockouts. And part of this is about the trajectory of this game. Different teams are at different stages of their development. They all deserve to be here. In 2006 I was part of an Ireland team beaten by France 43-0. Today, Ireland are ranked fifth, just behind France. If we all get behind these teams, that performance gap will close."
More than 85,000 spectators attended the opening eight group games, and headline matches produced record TV audiences, including 2.4m for England v USA and 3.2m for France v Italy. Early rounds featured large margins, with an average victory margin of 47 points and no close games; France v Italy was the tightest. More mismatches are expected in coming fixtures, such as England v Samoa and New Zealand v Japan. Organisers and World Rugby officials say standards are rising, fans are seeing more ball in play, better movement and higher skill levels, and matches should become tighter as teams develop.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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