England vs Argentina, Saturday 9th September 20:00
England go into the 2023 World Cup as alarming underdogs, in a tournament where they might not even make it out of the group.
The Pumas prevailed 30-29 in the rivals’ last meeting at Twickenham last November while England are reeling from a run of five defeats in six Tests.
The Pumas are in the rare position of being assigned favourites for the main event of Pool D, but for England qualification for the knockout phase does not appear to be the formality it once was.
England head coach Steve Borthwick has named Alex Mitchell at scrum-half and Tom Curry at openside for the Marseille showdown, while Courtney Lawes will lead the team in the absence of the suspended Owen Farrell.
Offering hope to England supporters is the selection of Mitchell ahead of Danny Care and Ben Youngs, with the 26-year-old half-back a more dynamic presence than his veteran rivals for the jersey.
The tempo and energy brought by Mitchell, both through his delivery and with the ball in hand, was one of the few highlights to emerge from a chastening defeat by Fiji last month.
Remarkably he starts in England’s biggest game since the 2019 World Cup final despite being overlooked for their original 33-man squad, with an injury to Jack van Poortvliet offering his route to France.
The bookies are on the fence with this one but backing the Pumas to win by 11-20 points shows promise.
Jonny May appears to be the big threat to the tryline in the England lineup and a good pick for the first try.
The carrying threat of Thomas Gallo makes him someone who is a great outside pick to get over the line first for Argentina.
Meanwhile Emiliano Boffelli is a great bet for the first points of any kind as both a winger and the Pumas chosen goalkicker.
