© David Rogers/Getty Images

BAGSHOT, Surrey -- After the customary post-match media duties, the right palms being pressed and brave smiles put on for rosy-cheeked supporters ushering them on to their St George's cross-adorned team bus, the England team arrived back at their Bagshot base at one o'clock in the morning, three hours after a stinging defeat to Wales.

The players went to their rooms and met briefly on Sunday morning before returning home to then meet again on Monday to go through the grizzly details of exactly where they managed to snatch defeat from the dragons' jaws of victory at Twickenham on Saturday night.

Stuart Lancaster found it hard to sleep -- it is understandable, that adrenaline does not just vanish; those mind-governing 'what-ifs' floated in front of his eyes as they refused to rest.

"I didn't sleep much -- I was lying awake thinking about it," he told the press on Sunday morning at our 10am meeting with him. "It takes a while -- I was up early, getting ready for you guys!"

The previous night he faced the media immediately after the full-time whistle. There is no hiding place for Lancaster, no time for private reflection in the midst of the all-seeing World Cup. Regardless of whatever he felt, whether he felt let down by the late calls, he had to put on a face of confidence and determination.

The same went for Wales coach Warren Gatland, though in a different realm of emotion. His was more relief. On penalties such as Dan Biggar's, jobs potentially hinge. Gatland is not everyone's cup of tea -- even some of those in Wales take some umbrage with him -- but he is a big-game coach.

But even he, the man who has seen so much in the game, found it hard to contain his emotions. "There is nothing bigger than a World Cup and we all know how this pool is," Gatland said. "To come to Twickenham and win ... I don't think I have ever shown quite as much emotion as I did tonight. It means so much to me personally and the coaches and players."

Rugby takes no prisoners when it comes to emotions and they run highest when the World Cup is town.

-- Tom Hamilton

Walking wounded find a way for Wales

Wales celebrating© David Rogers/Getty Images

TWICKENHAM -- As bodies from both sides began to crumble on Saturday night, it was beleaguered Wales who found the extra ounce of desire and effort to get over the line. And the watchword for their success? Belief.

"Obviously we were under the pump I suppose with a couple of our boys getting injured and us being under a bit of pressure," veteran prop Gethin Jenkins said. "But it was just the same message, 'keep going boys, keep going'.

"We believe in ourselves, we believe in our fitness levels, we believe in the energy we've got in the game and we believe in the players we've got. England are a quality side, especially at home, and we're just glad we managed to get over the line in the end."

That last sentence is telling. Wales have made a habit of not getting over the line against the better sides -- particularly Australia -- under Warren Gatland. But against South Africa last autumn, Ireland in March and now England, are they starting to make a habit of doing just that?

Jenkins admits Wales have "got a lot to work on" at the set piece, yet if they can get that right and their medical department can ensure Gatland has seven fit backs to choose from come Thursday and their next match against Fiji, then they are in an enviable position to reach the knockout stage proper.

-- Martyn Thomas

Canada confound Italy with uncontested line out

Canada- Italy lineout© World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images

LEEDS -- Rugby is a land of giants but Canada coach Kieran Crowley reckons his side is one of the smallest at the World Cup. So what does he do when confronted with giant forwards such as those boasted by the Italian pack last Saturday? He gets sneaky.

Canada have been refusing to challenge the opposition at the lineout, instead waiting for the catcher to land and cross the gain line before a tackler spears in at his legs to halt any chance of a maul developing. It's a tactic that seemed to make Italy uneasy, with the Azzurri not quite sure how to advance with nobody opposing them.

Of course, such a scheme can backfire, and it did so when Gonzalo Garcia ran in for Italy's second try after they produced quick ball from an uncontested line out. However, as Canada lock Jamie Cudmore told ESPN, it mostly proved effective as a way of nullifying Italy's jumpers, while also suggesting that rugby is about tactical nous as much as it is physicality.

"It's been a tactic of ours for most of the summer," Cudmore said. "As we don't have a huge amount of height in our lineout, we've decided not to contest and concentrate more on running a different play. Then we try to put pressure on their defensive line. I thought it worked pretty well today."

-- Tristan Barclay

Scotland moving on from Six Nations wooden spoon

Scotland celebrating© Alex Livesey/Getty Images

LEEDS -- Scotland lock Tim Swinson is adamant that Scotland have put their most recent Six Nations nightmare behind them after opening their Rugby World Cup campaign with two bonus-point victories.

Vern Cotter's side were left with the wooden spoon in this year's Six Nations, with a last-minute defeat by Italy at Murrayfield particularly galling. However, after scoring 10 tries in their thumping victories over Pool B opponents Japan and the USA, Scotland are in a strong position to qualify for their first World Cup quarterfinal since 2007.

Speaking to ESPN after Sunday's victory over the USA, Swinson revealed the Scotland camp feels like one on the up. "We've got 10 points from two games so it's the perfect start in terms of results. Obviously there are a few things each game that we want to fix. If any of us think we've played the perfect game yet, we're going to be kidding ourselves.

"We're taking each game as it comes and need to focus on South Africa next weekend, but the result [against the USA] showed that we've had a really good off-season and we've moved on from the Six Nations. The two and a half months we've had as a squad have really helped and that's showing in the way we're playing on the pitch."

-- Tristan Barclay

Georgia's birthday plans

Giorgi Nemsadze© Harry Engels/Getty Images

GLOUCESTER -- The Georgians certainly know how to celebrate - look at the scenes back in Tbilisi after their opening World Cup win against Tonga a week ago. And despite a seven-try defeat to Argentina last Friday, festivities remained in the Lelos camp -- although this time they were kept in house.

Lock Giorgi Nemsadze celebrated his 31st birthday the day after their loss in Gloucester and fellow forward Davit Zirakashvili revealed that birthdays are a reason for cheer among his team-mates, whatever the result.

"Every birthday, the present is a surprise," he told ESPN. "Everybody in the squad, whoever's birthday it is, always gets a surprise. The management will surprise him [Giorgi] and everyone will get to celebrate his birthday alongside him."

Getting to play New Zealand at a World Cup, which Georgia head coach Milton Haig described as the pinnacle of any rugby player's career, will no doubt prove to be some present for Nemsadze. The two nations will play out their first ever Test together in Cardiff on Friday.

A second successive defeat looks likely, meaning Georgia's target of two World Cup wins and automatic qualification for Japan 2019 may come down to their final Pool C match against Namibia on October 7 at Sandy Park, Exeter.

Zirakashvili added: "We've got realistic expectations for our next match but we'll give it a go. We haven't come to the World Cup just to win against Tonga."

-- Rob Bartlett

Sight-seeing Matera enjoys a day off in London

Pablo Matera© Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

GLOUCESTER -- While the Georgians celebrated birthdays over the weekend, Argentina's Pablo Matera was busy doing a little bit of sight-seeing.

Following the Pumas' impressive victory at Kingsholm on Friday, Matera revealed he would be spending his day off on Saturday in the capital.

"Now we have 10 days off -- we can just chill out a bit and rest the body and the mind. I might go to London on Saturday and visit Buckingham Palace and some of the museums. London is a beautiful city and I would love to walk around," Matera told ESPN afterwards.

Argentina started their World Cup campaign with a loss to defending champions New Zealand, before finally getting into their groove against Georgia. With remaining Pool C fixtures against Tonga and Namibia to come, confidence of achieving a fourth quarterfinal berth is high in the Argentinian camp.

When asked just how far his team-mates could go in England, Matera replied with a wry smile: "I hope that we are the last team to go home."

-- Rob Bartlett