Photographing the Rugby World Cup Phil Coomes

Picture editor Published duration 30 October 2015

During the past five weeks or so, David Davies has travelled around the country covering what is his sixth Rugby World Cup for the Press Association.

On the eve of the final, between New Zealand and Australia, I asked him to pick out a few of his favourite frames from the competition. Here is his selection along with his comments.

Argentina v Australia walk out for the semi-final

image copyright David Davies / PA

The entry of the two teams is built up so much these days, it is almost like gladiators entering the arena. They enter these cathedrals of rugby to huge fanfares, flames and heroic anthems, and it is something I tried to portray at Twickenham for the semi-final between Argentina and Australia.

I had looked at this position the week before, at the quarter-finals, and, after a conversation with the photo liaison manager and a bit of co-operation of others, I was able to get this different angle and, using a wide fisheye lens, tried to give the viewer an idea of the size of the stage the players were entering.

Tongan haka

image copyright David Davies / PA

We are all familiar with the New Zealand haka but a few of the other South Sea Islanders have their own haka. Here, Tonga perform theirs before the match with Namibia in Exeter. Being at a smaller open ground, the pitch was flooded in Autumnal afternoon light, which gives Tonga's red shirts a much richer colour. The expression and gestures of the lead player give the dance its tribal tone and adds to the picture.

Argentine fans

image copyright David Davies / PA

Fans from all over the world have travelled to England for this World Cup, and it is an important part of the day to try to capture the colour and atmosphere they provide. Argentina's are probably the most colourful and certainly some of the loudest fans to visit the World Cup, and when they took over the Shed stand at Gloucester, they created a memorable atmosphere for their game with Georgia.

Australia's Israel Folau breaks through

image copyright David Davies / PA

Long lens action occupies the majority of what I do during the game - getting out in to the middle of the park to get among the action. However, the game has changed a lot over the past few years. With players being much fitter and more mobile, it becomes harder to get good clean action.

Here, Australia's Israel Folau breaks through the Argentine defence during the semi-final at Twickenham, shot on a long telephoto lens it throws out the background to make the action stand out.

Australia v Scotland lineout

image copyright David Davies / PA

Here, I used a shorter lens to take this lineout during the quarter-final between Australia and Scotland. I shoot many lineouts, but here, I wanted to show the atmosphere of the occasion. Lineouts can be thrown to the front, back, or as in this case, the middle, and it is generally these middle line-outs that create the best shapes and make the better pictures.

Canada v Romania

image copyright David Davies / PA

We don't need long lens action all the time from every game, and here, I took the opportunity to shoot the Canada v Romania game from the top of the stand at Leicester City's ground. Shooting from this position obviously gives a different perspective and can give nice clean backgrounds of the pitch. Lineouts work well from this angle, as you can get in line with the thrower - it looks as if you are the thrower and part of the game.

Sunset over Exeter

image copyright David Davies / PA

You don't have to do the big games in the big venues to get the best pictures, and, in fact, being at the smaller grounds is better sometimes. This lineout at Exeter in the Tonga v Namibia game was only possible because of the smaller stands and being able to lie down on the ground to get the worm's eye view angle to lift the jumpers out of the stands and in to the sunset. All I needed was a bit of luck to get the lineout in the right place.

Jerome Kaino scores for New Zealand

image copyright David Davies / PA

Of course, the whole point of the game is to score, and here, Jerome Kaino scores in the corner during the semi-final with South Africa. Tries can potentially make great pictures or equally they can be dull pushover tries where you have no sight of the scorer. It can be a bit like fishing, in that you can go through game after game waiting for that spectacular scoring moment only to see it go in on the other corner. But every so often, it comes your way, and then all you have to do is get it. As the games get bigger, so does the moment, and you just have to hope you end up in the right corner.

England dejection

image copyright David Davies / PA

There always has to be a winner and a loser. Here, England players contemplate the fact they have made history as the first host nation to be eliminated before the end of the group stage. You always look for dejection during the game, after points are scored or just in the captain's body language, but you will always get a shot at the end of the game when the realisation of failure sinks in. Here, England wait to applaud Australia off the field, and their body language tells all you need to know as to how they feel. The fact there are five players all with their own pose compounds the feeling of despair.

Argentina's World in Union

image copyright David Davies / PA

To the winner go the spoils. Here, Argentina's Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe is engulfed by fans after their victory over Georgia in Gloucester. The winner will do their lap of honour after a game, and if you have a team and fans such as Argentina, their joy is shared and makes great pictures. By holding the camera above my head to add a little height, I was able to frame the picture with the fans' arms and had a little piece of luck with the happy smiling fan over the player's shoulder.

All photographs by David Davies / Press Association