There were pearlers aplenty as teams vied for places playoffs, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he selects his top 30 tries of the pool stage.
Playing on the grandest stage of them all produced inspired performances and moments of magic on the road to the last eight, with top teams and minnows alike lighting up the pitches of France.
Without further ado, here’s my list of the 30 best tries of the World Cup pool stage:
30: Prop Twist
Just when it looked as if Georgia were going to score against the Wallabies, big Taniela Tupou turned the tables with an interception and a beautiful pass to Man of the Match Ben Donaldson, who raced in for his first of two tries.
29: Laduma
Uruguay gave a second-string France side a scare in their second pool game, showing heart and skill in equal measure. The big highlight of their performance saw Nicolas Freitas turn Felipe Etcheverry’s kick pass into a football cross with some ridiculous dribbling skills to dot down the first of their two tries.
28: Prop Idol
It’s always memorable when a prop gets to charge over for a rare try like the unstoppable Ben Tameifuna did for Tonga against Scotland after a good initial run by fleet-footed Solomone Kata.
27: Sixteen Years In The Making
Portugal scored their first World Cup try in 16 years in unforgettable fashion, a no-look pass off the top of the lineout from Rafael Simoes to Nicolas Martins seeing the flanker dot down.
26: Los Teros Turn It On
Trailing 23-12, this try – a product of a wraparound and wonderfully acrobatic finish by Baltazar Amaya – was key to Uruguay’s come-from-behind win over Namibia.
25: The Magic Man Strikes
Italy may have been annihilated by the All Blacks but that didn’t stop their rising star Ange Capuozzo from enjoying the ultimate highlight of his career to date as he soared over in the corner after a well-worked move.
24: Touch Of Class
Louis Bielle-Biarrey, the youngest player ever to represent France at a World Cup at 20 years of age, provided one of the assists of the tournament when he grabbed Matthieu Jalibert’s deft chip and popped the scoring pass to Jonathan Danty in the nick of time against Namibia.
23: Special Delivery
Leave it to Damian McKenzie to deliver a jaw-dropping assist like he did when he ran onto his own grubber and just managed to scoop a pass away in time for Will Jordan to run in against Uruguay.
22: On The Manie
Not to be outdone, Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok turned on the style as he set up Kurt-Lee Arendse for a try with an audacious no-look crosskick against Scotland.
21: Mapimpi Magic
Enterprise from Faf de Klerk inside his 22 and a deft pass by Willie le Roux unleashed Makazole Mapimpi, who beat Gabriel Pop one-on-one with a scintillating swerve and sped in for his second of three tries against Romania.
20: Parting The Red Sea
Irish wing Mack Hansen showcased his predatory finishing prowess when he sidestepped his way through a sea of Tongan defenders to touchdown.
19: Sexton Slides Into The Record Books
No stranger to making history, Johnny Sexton made some more when he scored this cracker against Tonga to surpass Ronan O’Gara (1,083) as Ireland’s all-time leading points scorer.
18: Rees Lightning
Getting the ball after a beautiful long pass by Tomos Williams and carry by Jac Morgan, Louis Rees-Zammit made it look easy as he grubbered and re-gathered to strike first against Portugal. Rubbing salt in the wounds, the winger did Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous celebration.
17: Soaring Samoan
The handling in this wraparound move by Samoa in their opening clash against Chile was crisp and the finish one of the most memorable as Jonathan Taumateine soared over in the corner.
16: Island Style
Fiji brought their renowned flair from the word go, captain fantastic Waisea Nayacalevu inspiring this try in their thrilling opening clash against Wales with an outstanding offload to Semi Radradra, who beat two defenders and flicked the ball to Lekima Tagitagivalu to take to the house.
15: Air Jordan
Playing against Italy, All Blacks winger Will Jordan showed off his extraordinary finishing skills when he fielded a crosskick from Jordie Barrett, leapt into the sky and slammed the ball down in contact with one hand to score his 24th try in 27 Tests.
14: It’s Sizzling
Argentina found a flow state to score this try against Chile in the first-ever all-South American World Cup match, Martin Bogado banking it beautifully.
13: Five-star English Effort
Henry Arundell equalled the England record for most tries in a single match and became only the fourth man to score five tries in a single World Cup game against Chile. Just about everyone chipped in for this his third touchdown.
12: The Lelos Light It Up
Georgia got off to the perfect start against Portugal courtesy of Davit Niniashvili, who broke the line and fired a fantastic offload to Akaki Tabutsadze for the wing’s first of two tries.
11: Threading The Needle
Portugal fired on all cylinders on a glorious night in Toulouse to stun Fiji and claim their first-ever win at a World Cup. The first of their three tries was the finest as it featured two perfectly weighted kicks, exemplary chasing and a fantastic finish from Raffaele Storti.
10: : Ireland Weave Attacking Tapestry
As clinical as it gets, Ireland carved up shell-shocked Scotland with beautiful backline play highlighted by a special ball from Bundee Aki and finished off by Hugo Keenan.
9: I Love It When A Plan Comes Together
Wales kick-started their record 40-6 win over the Wallabies with a perfectly executed lineout move with Jac Morgan and Gareth Davies showing their speed and the latter’s momentum getting him over the line.
8: Graham Is Gone
Not content with having scored six tries, Scotland added a seventh to cap off their win over Tonga, Darcy Graham streaking in from about 65 metres after some good hands and a crucial offload off the ground from Huw Jones.
7: For The Record
Ireland shot out of the blocks as they romped to an 82-8 victory over Romania. They capped off their biggest-ever World Cup win in style as Bundee Aki pounced on a chip and offloaded off the ground to Garry Ringrose, who beat one defender with a quick step and drew another before sending Tadhg Beirne in for try number 12.
6: Superhuman Assist
Scotland’s South African-born wing Duhan van der Merwe went full beast mode when he beat four Tongan defenders before offloading to George Horne who slid over in the corner.
5: A Portuguese Peach
Portugal put it all together to open their account against Georgia – confident and clinical handling, bold ambition and a clean pair of heels from Raffaele Storti.
4: Italian Excellence
Italy carved up Namibia in their opening clash in Toulouse, the pick of their seven tries being this long-range strike from a lineout that saw Tommaso Allan beat two defenders with a pass to create space and wingers Ange Capuozzo and Monty Ioane combine with a one-two with Capuozzo stepping and scoring in the corner.
3: One For The Ages
Japan’s Amato Fakatava scored one of the greatest lock tries of all time and the best individual effort of the pool stage, channelling his inner Victor Matfield with an immaculate chip-and-chase touchdown in the do-or-die clash with Argentina.
2: Black Magic
Started by captain Ardie Savea and finished in Jonah Lomu-like fashion by Mark Telea, this was a quintessentially wickedly-weaved All Blacks try.
1: Champagne Rugby
France were ruthless as they stormed to their biggest-ever World Cup win when they whitewashed Namibia 96-0. The third and finest of their 14 tries on the night was characterised by slick hands and smooth interplay and saw Charles Ollivon finish off.
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