This weekend marked the beginning of the World Rugby Nations Cup 2026 and 59 tries across six absorbing encounters made it an unforgettable opening round of action.
Georgia, Tonga, Chile and the USA were taken to the wire in hard-fought battles, while Samoa’s victory was comfortable and Spain and Canada shared the spoils.
URUGUAY 34-41 GEORGIA: End-to-end thriller see the Lelos ultimately come out on top
In the sunshine of Montevideo, the World Rugby Nations Cup 2026 kicked off with two sides both hungry and confident of an opening win.
The first 10 minutes were dominated by Uruguay, who reaped the rewards with a try from hooker Joaquin Myszka after a TMO check.
Luka Matkava, who had a thoroughly impressive game at fly-half, scored minutes later after a passage of play which saw Georgia pile the pressure on Los Teros’ defence. Nikolozi Sutidze then barrelled over for their second.
A sin-bin for Georgia full-back Davit Niniashvili proved costly just before half-time as Juan Gonzalez scored a brilliant try in the corner, thanks to a wonderful pass from Ignacio Alvarez Akiki.
Every time it looked like Georgia would pull away, Uruguay showed their class in attack, summed up by an audacious cross-field kick from Jean Cotarmanac'h which bounced over Romani Makhatadze and was collected by Juan Manuel Alonso for the score.
This set up a nervy last 10 minutes in which Uruguay were knocking on the door of a famous win. Yet the Lelos held on, and when Mikheil Alania finished off a well-worked move, it sealed an opening-day win for Georgia.
SAMOA 66-19 HONG KONG CHINA: Samoa run riot in Santiago try fest
One of the stories of this expanded Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 format is the first-time qualification of Hong Kong China, and thus their entry into the Nations Cup and a chance to play against a side qualified for Australia 2027, something they haven’t done since 2016.
This was always going to be a tough task for Logan Asplin’s men.
Within a minute, Manu Samoa had their first try and from then on they were unrelenting in their pursuit of the try-line. Quick hands and deadly breaks made it a tough day for the Hong Kong China defence, and the joy was seen on the Samoan faces as they scored try after try.
The highlight of the game was without doubt debutant Warren Solomona, who carved through defenders and scored two tries, one of notable class in the first half, and he was ecstatic. You could sense the childlike excitement when he burst past defenders, and he is going to be a threat for anyone playing Samoa.
That’s not to say Hong Kong China weren’t in it at all. Their first attack saw them rewarded with a penalty try, and despite being down 38-7 at half-time, they came out strong in the second half, scoring back-to-back tries. It showed a resilience and fight which won’t go unnoticed for other teams who face them.
For the last 20 minutes, Manu Samoa were masterful, capped off with some lovely footballing skills by Elisapeta Alofipo, who bagged a brace in the last few minutes.
It was an emphatic win for Manu Samoa in the end, but there is no doubt that Hong Kong China will be better for the experience.
CHILE 48-31 ROMANIA: Los Cóndores delight home crowd in Santiago
Chile played their first test of the year against Romania, and what an absorbing encounter it was.
After a tough opening 10 minutes, a lovely ball inside from Rodrigo Fernandez eventually led to Lucas Berti scoring the first try.
Two tries in quick succession demonstrated the brute force the Oaks had up front with tries from number eight Adrian Emmanuel Mitu and hooker Stefan Buruiana.
Javier Carrasco continued the forwards’ try-fest, and half an hour in, we had a seriously tight encounter on our hands. A lovely pick-and-go from Raimundo Martinez ended the first half on a high for Chile.
Ultimately what separated the two teams was a clinical edge. For every try Romania scored, Chile scored two. Dylan Raymond Schwartz started the second half perfectly with an interception, only for it to then be followed by two tries in five minutes from Raimundo Martinez and Diego Escobar.
When Marius Simionescu got down for Romania’s fourth, tries by Martinez and Escobar again killed any Romanian momentum.
Diego Escobar’s explosive finish with just a few minutes to play was easily the moment of the match and ultimately what sealed a great win for Chile.
TONGA 36-26 ZIMBABWE: Spirited Sabres impress, but Tonga prove too strong
This Pool F encounter at RWC 2027 was the perfect beginning to this two-part saga which will conclude in Queensland next year.
The lively crowd probably couldn’t believe their eyes that after 23 minutes there was still no score.
Eventually a lovely looping pass from Patrick Pellegrini to Telusa Veainu broke the deadlock. It didn’t take long for Tonga to grab their second, loose-head Fatongia Paea diving over with a clever finish.
The Sables finally responded, and Matthew Mandioma finished it off from a maul.
Despite being reduced to 14 men, Fine Inisi showed great resilience, stretching out for the score and giving Tonga a healthy lead at half-time.
The second half belonged to one man, and that was 22-year-old Edward Sigauke, who dazzled the Denver crowd with his dancing feet. He first brilliantly set up Tino Mavesere after carving through the Tongan defence. Ten minutes later, after a brilliant dummy from Matthew Mandioma, Sigauke received the ball in space and from then only one outcome was inevitable.
In between those two tries, the man mountain of Godfrey Muzanargwo scored an exceptional try in the corner, and you began to feel there was a belief in Zimbabwe that they could pull off an opening day upset. A Patrick Pellegrini sin-bin further instilled that.
However, in the space of four minutes Tonga’s physicality up front proved too much, and they scored two tries to do enough to earn a hard-fought win.
CANADA 42-42 SPAIN: Game of the weekend as rivalry takes another turn
Given the recent head-to-head record between these two sides, in addition to their upcoming RWC 2027 pool meeting, a tight affair could be expected.
Instead it was an absolute thriller from start to finish; one that was exhausting to watch, never mind if you were one of the players. Aerial battles, end-to-end attacks, non-stop line-breaks, and a scoreline fitting for the occasion.
From the offset, Spain’s attack looked sharp and great awareness from Gonzalo Lopez set up Alberto Carmona in the corner.
Spain's ill-discipline, however – a common theme throughout the match – was already hindering their momentum. The constant penalties Los Leones gave away put Canada in dangerous positions, and they took full advantage. Mason Flesch was the standout, proving a threat every time he carried and bagging a first-half brace.
Spain were dominant in the scrum, while Martiniano Cian was in scintillating form at outside centre. He made line-break after line-break, at times out of what looked like nothing, setting up two tries for Estanislao Bay with virtually the same move.
You just never knew where the game was headed. After a sustained period of Spanish pressure, in which Canada held out, they went straight up the other end and scored from a maul.
A converted Spanish try followed, and when Gonzalo Lopez made it 35-35 with 10 minutes to play, it was a mouth-watering prospect for every spectator in Edmonton.
Canada looked like they were going to score, building phases and thinking they’d grounded but instead they’d knocked it on. Spain then, with a scrum on virtually their own try-line, won a penalty and from a lineout thought they’d won it when a break from John Wessel Bell set up Kerman Aurrekoetxea to score.
The drama was not done, though, and Canada fought back heroically to score after the clock turned red, with Kyle Tremblay showing incredible awareness to come in from his wing. After a TMO check the try stood, and Takoda McMullin knocked the conversion over to signify the end of an all-time classic.
USA 30-29 PORTUGAL: Hilsenbeck the hero as the Eagles soar in Independence Day encounter
A rousing rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner capped off the anthems, adding to the party atmosphere of these 250th Independence Day celebrations. The crowd at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park were certainly fired up.
The excitement was short-lived as a fine grubber from Manuel Vareiro was chased and brilliantly finished by Manuel Cardoso Pinto. Portugal throughout the first half looked the more well-balanced side with a stronger kicking game, solid lineout and physically superior.
Another grubber, this time from Vincent Pinto, was fortunate with the bounce but was gratefully received by Cardoso Pinto.
The Eagles eventually started causing problems for Os Lobos’ defence and Cory Daniel scored in the corner. Paddy Ryan then took full advantage of a Portuguese sin-bin.
Cardoso Pinto followed when he bagged a first-half hat-trick, with Samuel Marques pulling the strings at scrum-half.
Perry Mayo could not have imagined a more eventful way to start his international career. He first made an incredible try-saving tackle after a lovely looping kick from Vareiro was collected by Raffaele Storti, who thought he was through.
The moment the match turned, however, came when Vareiro, who had been exceptional until then, collected a kick in the air. With his foot sticking out, he connected with Mayo's face, and the fly-half saw red.
With a two-man advantage, the Eagles had all the momentum and Dominic Besag scored to give them the lead at half-time.
Throughout the second half, Portugal conceded endless penalties. It not only resulted in a loss of territory, but any time Portugal got points, the USA were able to come back and maintain their lead through the boot of Christopher Hilsenbeck.
Cardoso Pinto then grabbed a fourth to put Os Lobos back in front. For a team that seemed intent on gifting their opposition points, they were fortunate to have such a quality finisher on their side.
The sense of relief didn't last long as Pedro Vicente was red-carded for a stamp on Benjamin Bonasso. It summed up Portugal’s evening, and with a few minutes to go, the USA received a penalty over 30 metres out.
Showing incredible composure, Hilsenbeck slotted it over and the Eagles held on for a momentous victory against the in-form team coming into the Nations Cup.
