Warren Gatland’s men battled to a 54-9 triumph at the Millennium Stadium to launch their Pool A campaign. And Ball, who was a key figure in Wales’ dominant set-piece, revealed the national anthem sparked a fire in his belly before kickoff.
He said: “Today was the biggest game for me in my career. I was really struggling to hold back the emotions during the anthem, they were all over the place. I didn’t really expect that to be honest so it shows how big of an occasion it was. Looking where I’ve come from to where I am now is fantastic.
“It was a nervy start but in the end our strength shone through. Some of the set-piece work and forward play was good. We put a massive emphasis on the driving maul, there was plenty of chat out there as well.”
Next up for Wales is a clash with old foes and tournament hosts England at Twickenham on Saturday, 26 September. The Red Rose lifted the curtain on the World Cup with a bonus-point 35-11 victory over Fiji. But Ball is hoping to wreck hosts’ party at Rugby HQ and send a message to their Webb Ellis Cup rivals.
He said: “There were opportunities there that we didn’t take and should have finished, we’ll have a look at those but we need to look forward to England now and focus on that game at Twickenham. England are always tough opponents, I played against them in the Six Nations a couple of seasons ago at Twickenham – it’s a tough place to play rugby but its a great opportunity to put a marker down in the competition.”
