THE rugby World Cup kicked off on Friday with a belter . . .Setanta v TV3! Yes, with RTE consigned to the TV rights wilderness we have to pick a new channel to follow for our World Cup fix. Sad to say, I'm missing Ryle Nugent already. It's upsetting to think of him in a well-furnished flat somewhere in Dublin, sitting around watching the action with Ross O'Carroll-Kelly and his mates, commentating forlornly and unheard into an unopened can of Heino.

On top of which Setanta's Nigel Starmer-Smith doesn't seem like an adequate replacement for Ryle. For one thing he sounds disconcertingly like the David Coleman pastiche on Today FM's Gift Grub, delivering his every utterance in portentous tones, while managing the neat trick of simultaneously sounding totally underwhelmed.

Not that anyone would blame him for being underwhelmed by the opening ceremony, which wasn't even naff in a fun way . . . the French authorities clearly deciding it wasn't worth pushing the boat out beyond paddling depth. The ceremony mainly featured people beating on large oil drums with large wooden sticks, as well as what looked like a huge game of twister involving some Power Rangers that had let themselves go. Which probably makes them Teletubbies.

Through all this on TV3 Conor McNamara took the sensible approach of largely maintaining a dignified, and probably bemused, silence.

Poor Starmer-Smith though over-committed to the challenge and was left groggy by the end. As the Teletubbies engaged in some poorly synchronised jumping and rolling he explained that "the dancers are re-enacting the movements of players in the game of rugby." Shortly after they moved on to some forward tumbles and back flips, at which point StarmerSmith gingerly admitted that he hadn't seen moves like that on a rugby pitch before.

Oh for the days when Jimmy Magee would explain in detail what every costume change in an Olympics opening ceremony meant: "The people dressed as snakes have horns because legend has it that a giant serpent devoured a herd of goats and their shepherds in 705BC on the very spot where this stadium is built, " sayeth Jimmy.

But when a large metal contraption is wheeled out onto the pitch, StarmerSmith could only offer: "It looks like a medieval chariot.

I suppose it's symbolic."

The match itself didn't go too well for the hosts either, as Argentina adopted a ballsout and balls-up combination of physicality and Garryowens to soften les Bleus' cough. The French TV director was clearly looking for a saviour and as the game wore on cut to shots of Sebastien Chabal glowering on the sideline with increasing frequency.

Eventually Sebastien of Nazareth was introduced but he couldn't work the oracle against Argentina's feral onslaught. On TV3, Matt Cooper was having some difficulty with an onslaught of ads, frequently inserting the word "briefly" into his questions so the sponsors could get their spoke in.

Like France, Cooper may have been suffering slightly from opening night jitters, but he knows his stuff and you could imagine him settling into the anchor role nicely as the tournament progresses. Once they got a decent run at it his panel of Jim Glennon, Trevor Brennan and Paul Wallace struck a nice balance.

Unluckily for them though just as they were pondering aloud what Eddie O'Sullivan would make of the night's proceedings Setanta were playing their trump card . . . a live interview with Eddie O'Sullivan explaining what he made of the night's proceedings.

It's hard to imagine a similar situation with any international soccer manager at a World Cup, as a slightly uncomfortable looking O'Sullivan stood outside the team hotel and gamely fielded questions and queries from Matt Williams, Ciaran Fitzgerald and Neil Francis.

Franno even had the temerity to point out that Argentina had just held France tryless and have recently held Ireland scoreless, and to query if O'Sullivan had a plan in mind to score against the Argies. O'Sullivan smiled wanly and assured him that he did, but declined to reveal it in case anyone in Buenos Aires had a video tape running.

On the night overall, the honours between Setanta and TV3 were probably shared but if, as appears to be the case, O'Sullivan is contractually required to have these little chats with the Setanta lads it's a fantastic boon for the station. Indeed if the Group of Death gets particularly hairy for Ireland and O'Sullivan they're likely to become very uncomfortable must-see TV. Some of the toughest tackling may yet take place off the pitch.