KEY POINTS:
Some 1385 days after Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal ended the fifth Rugby World Cup, a Parisian spectacular opened the sixth edition.
Combining elements of the circus, post-modernism, and always with a reference to rugby's marching band past, the World Cup got off to a successful start before a ball had been kicked in anger.
But that's where the success for the hosts ended. In the match that followed, Argentina produced a shock 17-12 victory, a win that could see France, pre-tournament second favourites, meet the All Blacks in a quarter-final in Cardiff.
The sombre mood following the match could not have contrasted more greatly to two hours earlier.
In front of 80,000 spectators at France's national stadium, ceremony director Olivier Massart set out to capture five essences of rugby - respect, passion, bravery, determination and brotherhood - into one compact show.
Unlike the overblown and interminable Olympic ceremonies, rugby likes them short and sweet. So the 54 percussionists - each with 44-gallon drums - 200 dancers and 20 bands began at 8.23pm local time and were gone by 8.45pm.
The highlight was the Francois Delaroziere-created machines, which looked like a cross between a Braveheart catapult and an oversized scrum machine.
Rugby "legends" represented 20 countries in a variation of the march past. There was Gareth Edwards, Hugo Porta, John Eales and Keith Wood. Jean-Pierre Rives received the biggest cheer of the night, but not far behind was perhaps the biggest star of the World Cup era, Jonah Lomu, New Zealand's envoy.
It was obvious something special was in the air when, about four hours before kickoff, people were pouring out of nearby train stations and patronising makeshift bars on the way to the stadium. And they faced no shortage of security getting into the Stade de France.
All bags were searched thoroughly and those there early enough were witness to the extraordinary sight of a line of fluorescent-jacketed staff pacing up and down the length of the field as if it was a crime scene, checking every blade of grass for potential trouble.
For 44 days France - and to a lesser extent Cardiff and Edinburgh - will be awash with rugby.
Massive marketing campaigns have seen World Cup booths, each with their own set of goalposts, set up in the major train stations where matches are played.
On Thursday the Eiffel Tower was lit up in World Cup colours but, for the thousands of New Zealanders who poured into Paris and Marseille last week, the hope is that come October 20 the cup will be painted black.
This is a chance for New Zealand redemption. They began their much-anticipated campaign last night in the southern city of Marseilles.
But before that, all eyes were on Paris.
