So there you have it. England might not have such a bad World Cup, after all. Back to the drawing board for Argentina.
Thanks for reading tonight, and emailing in – see you tomorrow for Wales v Fiji.
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Borthwick has a chat with ITV: “I enjoy this job, I enjoy working with this group of players. They’re a fantastic group and I’m really pleased for them tonight. I’m also pleased for the supporters. I said there was going to be a lot of English supporters in the crowd, and there certainly was.
“The team loves the supporters, and they really benefited from the way they got behind us tonight.”
On the Curry sending off: “Each incident is different … we’ll have a good look at the incident … it will go through a disciplinary process now and it would be wrong for me to start commenting on it.
“As I said before, there was a feeling, a sense I had from the players, that they’d been written off a bit too early … and what I think is a really quality group of players who are going to keep improving. I think we’re going to move forward, our focus now shifts to Japan … we’re going to enjoy this, and England supporters here will enjoy it, and I hope they’re enjoying it in the pubs at home.
“Our focus is going to move to Japan. That’s our next opponent. We’ll enjoy tonight, the players deserve to enjoy it. But our focus is going to go on to Japan next Sunday.”
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For the first time, Borthwick’s Leicester style has looked to have a place at international level.
Fair play to 14-man England, who will take huge amounts of confidence from an outstanding defensive effort. A corner turned? They will certainly believe so.
— Robert Kitson (@robkitson) September 9, 2023
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ITV just replayed Tuilagi’s tackle on Chocobares. It was a hell of a shot. That one is going to hurt in the morning.
Beneath the beautiful curved roof of this wonderful arena, a 14-man England finally gave their long-suffering supporters something to cherish. The Rugby World Cup in France is only a couple of days old but it will take something extra special in the weeks ahead to eclipse this effort in terms of backs-to-the-wall resilience and good old-fashioned bulldog spirit.
England also had George Ford, who in terms of shaping a Test match enjoyed the most satisfying big game of his career. The Sale fly-half was world junior player of the year in his youth but here, on the ultimate stage, he surpassed that achievement by scoring all his side’s points in a kicking performance even Jonny Wilkinson would have found hard to match.
I’m seeing some comments about that being a boring match due to the lack of tries … I must be biased, because I thought it was great to watch. One for the purists, or not one for the purists? I don’t really know, but it was a good, tough game of rugby.
George Ford speaks:“It [targeting drop-goals] was always part of the plan. It’s a great weapon for us. Especially when the ball’s a bit greasy tonight. We went a man down early on, we had to come away with as many points as possible when we had field position. We managed to do that. The boys up front were incredible to get us into that field position. All credit to them.
“It’s never about one individual. We’re a close-knit team. We’ve had a bit of a rocky build-up to this World Cup. We’ve had to deal with a a lot. But the last 10 days, the way we’ve grabbed hold of it, it’s a pleasure to be a part of. I must say it’s only a start, of course. It’s only game one. We’ll look to build next week.
“Look, winning the first game is always a good thing for us, against a quality team like Argentina. Again, it’s only the first game. We’ve got some tough games to come. We’re a in a position where we want to keep improving.”
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One of the notable things about that England performance is how under-powered they looked in some of the warm-ups, and how fully-charged they appeared in Marseille. They dominated Argentina physically, and the Pumas heads’ began to drop as the match went on.
The George Ford show 🪄#RWC2023 | #ENGvARG pic.twitter.com/KadLgIXNC8
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 9, 2023
Full time! England 27-10 Argentina
A timely, timely win for Steve Borthwick and England. An exceptional performance from start to finish, with the exception of the red card for Curry. George Ford kicked 27 points, and was simply sublime throughout. His starting half-back partner, Alex Mitchell, also had a brilliant night.
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Try! 79 min: England 27-10 Argentina (Bruni)
Something for Argentina to cling to. Bruni, the replacement, crashes over, and that will be that. (It’s converted by Boffelli, so Argentina hit double figures.)
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78 min: Boffelli surges into the England 22. He is held up by May, who hasn’t had much ball, but has been very solid.
77 min: Michael Cheika, formerly the head coach Australia and Leinster – and recently architect of some of the Pumas’ finest results – is looking forlorn as he contemplates the impact of this defeat.
“Argentina have been awful tonight,” says Ugo Monye on commentary for ITV. “But as least we [England, he means] have started this World Cup the way we hoped.”
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Penalty! 75 min: England 27-3 Argentina (Ford)
Ford sends up a garryowen. England win another penalty. The Princess of Wales is pictured in the stands, and even she looks thrilled, smiling and waving to the camera.
Ford belts the penalty through the posts, and is promptly taken off for Marcus Smith. What a display by Ford, his record points haul for England.
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72 min: Finally Argentina win a scrum penalty as Stuart loses his bind. It’s launched down into England territory and Argentina have a platform to try, somehow, to get back into this.
However, Raynal penalises Creevy of Argentina for stepping out of the lineout before the ball is delivered. Creevy looks nonplussed. Overall, this is a desperately disappointing performance from Argentina.
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71 min: England have made 111 tackles. Argentina have made 80. Borthwick is sure to be pleased with the defensive workrate his players have applied here.
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69 min: Argentina changes: Creevy on for Montoya, Bazan Velez on for Bertranou. For England, Lawes went off for Ludlam. Lawes was another top performer for England this evening.
There’s a shot of England’s players in the stands. They are all smiling. They will have a spring in their collective step after this. It’s a seriously impressive performance given the gloom that has descended recently.
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68 min: Here come Argentina. Gaps appear in the English defence. The Pumas power through several phases inside the 22. A bundle of bodies forms on the try-line. England hold it up, and will have the scrum put-in.
Earl, who has blood dripping down his neck, throws his hands up to celebrate passionately as Raynal blows his whistle and indicates his decision. The banned captain, Owen Farrell, is pictured in the stand applauding.
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Penalty! 65 min: England 27-3 Argentina (Ford)
Ford does the necessary. He spanks another classy kick off the tee, straight through the middle. Up in the stand, Borthwick is pictured, actually smiling. This is England’s night. Could it be England’s pool, too?
Ford has scored 24 points, same as England.
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64 min: After the attacking lineout for England, Raynal penalises Argentina again! This time it’s for not rolling away. Argentina have conceded 11 penalties to England’s five. Montoya, the Argentina captain, looks desperate as he protests to the French referee. He knows this is slipping away. It’s such a frustrating night for Argentina, all the more so as they are playing with an extra man. But that’s credit to England’s display also.
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63 min: Argentina’s players look thoroughly depressed, in truth. But they still have time. England’s hunger has been first-class. By a mile, this is the best performance they have produced under Borthwick, even factoring in the red card for Curry.
Stuart, recently on in the front row, wins another scrum penalty. George Ford’s touch-finder flirts with the corner flag, but it’s perfect, and it’s another good platform for England.
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62 min: Ford is hit late, and cynically, by the former Argentina captain Matera. It feels a bit late in the day for that sort of treatment …
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60 min: Into the last quarter, but England’s excellence in defence continues, and the song remains the same for Argentina. Earl is jackalling like a man possessed after Mateo Carreras goes roaming with ball in hand, a penalty comes on halfway, and Daly will have a crack at it. He misses it left again.
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Penalty! 58 min: England 21-3 Argentina (Ford)
England have scored 21 points. George Ford has scored 21 points. It’s a virtuoso performance from the wily England No 10.
Now, England scrum-half Mitchell – who has been simply outstanding – goes off, Danny Care on.
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55 min: Despite the absence of Curry after his early sending off, England are putting Argentina’s scrum under all sorts of pressure. Genge went off, and Marler came on a minute ago. Now Argentina muck up their latest lineout – or rather, Itoje nicks it … and England soon win another penalty for Argentina offside! Again!
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Penalty! 53 min: England 18-3 Argentina (Ford)
Ford’s on fire. He’s having a sensational night. He clips another dead-eyed kick through the middle, and Argentina are going to need to get busy if they are going to get back on terms.
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51 min: Another dodgy moment for Daly who looks to have knocked on a high kick, but the ref reckons it went back then bounced forwards. Lucky.
Manu Tuilagi puts in a massive, shuddering hit on Chocobares … Argentina are forced on to the back foot again, and England win another penalty, and Ford will kick.
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50 min: Cole off, Stuart on for England. For Argentina, Pagadizabal on for Alemanno and Sclavi on for Kodela.
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48 min: Mitchell makes another electrifying dart down the left by the touchline. Daly is there in support on the outside, but he somehow fails to read the fact that Mitchell is about to pass to him, and the ball falls into touch. I’d say that’s the second overlap that Daly has ruined.
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47 min: Argentina have a scrum after the restart. They try to spin the ball through the hands, left to right. Chocobares spills the ball with the English defence rushing up. A really poor error, in truth, that exemplifies Argentina’s night so far.
England then win a scrum penalty, Gallo penalised, and nothing is going right for Cheika’s men.
Penalty! 45 min: England 15-3 Argentina (Ford)
The Sale Sharks fly-half, formerly of Leicester and Bath, belts an unerring penalty through the sticks. England continue to keep the scoreboard ticking over. There are some concerned Argentinian faces.
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44 min: Another scrum goes well for England. Earl runs off the base and tries another cute kick towards the corner. He must have been watching Ardie Savea last night … Anyway, the kick bounces off an Argentina body and fortunately drops for Lawes to gather, England keep the ball alive, and the Pumas are penalised for going offside. Ford will try to stretch the lead to 12 …
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42 min: “Surely the point about Curry is that he wasn’t competing for the ball, only to tackle the man,” writes Geoff Wignall. “As that man was in the air, Curry had a duty of care which he made no attempt to satisfy. He could have slowed his speed, shifted his feet or lowered his body/ head position - none of which he attempted.”
41 min: Gonzalez, the Pumas No 8, races through a gap in the English defence, running a lovely line on to a pass around halfway. But then it’s knocked on, and England have a scrum. That scrum goes very, very well with Tuilagi chipping in, in the absence of Curry, and England are on the move again.
Are England actually invoking the spirit of Marseille 2007, or what?
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Second half kick-off!
Here we go then. I have a funny feeling this is going to be eventful, and dare I say it, fun.
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With all that said, however, I don’t think anyone would have complained had Curry been allowed back on the field given the accidental nature of the incident. Was it partly a matter of “optics” for the foul play review officer, with blood gushing from Mallia’s head?
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On ITV, Dallaglio and Woodward both advocate a yellow card for the Curry incident, saying it was accidental.
Dallaglio asks: “Where is he supposed to go?” I reckon the answer to that is Curry should not be moving in to try and tackle in such an upright position.
Siya Kolisi spoke recently about all the work South Africa do on tackle technique. You can argue Curry is unlucky … but it’s hard to imagine Kolisi or one of his teammates making the same kind of error.
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“I’ve loved watching rugby throughout my life but as things currently stand, it’s over,” emails Tom King. “The constant reviewing of incidents is unwatchable. The safety/risk ratio is out of kilter.
“I cannot see or predict any more what incident will lead to what result. To me, Curry’s was a simple accident, and while it’s nasty, it clearly held no malice, nor gave an advantage. The same could be said of the Argentinian yellow.
“I no longer get why one is a sending off and the other isn’t. Is it only to do with head contact? If so, why? Aren’t plenty of players forced to leave the game prematurely because of other types of injury?
“At some point, surely we have to recognise that the only way to make rugby safe is not to play at all? These are adults who accept that accidents happen and play at an elite level against people who are objectively massive.
“Sorry to be such a downer but it’s very sad to watch the slow death of a sport I used to love.”
Jonathan Liew saw Australia defeat Georgia earlier:
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Half time! England 12-3 Argentina
What to make of that? An early calamity for England, with Tom Curry’s yellow card upgraded to red – an all too familiar tale. But that aside, Borthwick’s side have been excellent, and three drop-goals and a penalty by Ford have put them in control. Cheika is not going to be a happy man, because his team seemed to collectively lose their minds at points during that half. Can they sort it out, and make England pay for the early red card?
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38 min: Ford claims a mark in the England 22 from a poor kick from deep by the full-back by Mallia, who is sporting a head bandage after that early clash with Curry. He clears for touch, and Argentina have a lineout just inside their own half.
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35 min: Drop-goal! England 12-3 Argentina (Ford)
This, you have to say, is some good rugby from England. The lineout is smooth following Ford’s excellent touch-finder, and England build some phases into the Argentina 22. Ford is lurking in a central position, and by now, we know what’s coming. It looks like he can’t miss from this range, and indeed he doesn’t. Argentina are making errors all over the gaff, but England are capitalising on them.
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34 min: Steward leaps to gather a high ball, running forward, and gets clipped by Matera around halfway. The Leicester full back falls heavily, and the England fans wail, but it’s just a penalty. Anyway, Ford belts the kick down into the corner and England have an attacking lineout.
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31 min: After all the excitement of the drop-goals, England utterly butcher a three-on-two overlap on the right wing, with Daly and May getting in a muddle despite the Argentina defence being nowhere. May gets a hospital pass and can’t do anything with it. A big missed opportunity.
Carreras now tries a drop goal from miles out … it drops well wide, and the England fans jeer accordingly.
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30 min: Drop-goal! England 9-3 Argentina (Ford)
Oh, that is very, very good. Ford has a taste for it now, and he’s standing on the halfway line having dropped back for another crack at a three-pointer from distance with England in possession. He hits a sweet, sweet drop-kick straight through the sticks, and the England fans in the arena feel like they’ve been transported back to Sydney in 2003. Tremendous.
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28 min: Argentina concede another penalty, in the England half, Genge urging the referee to give it … Daly opts to kick for the posts, but leaves it just short and left from long distance. Joe Marchant sprints after the kick and Argentina hurry a clearance. Argentina look a little rattled, despite the fact they are a man to the good. England’s appetite for this contest cannot be denied.
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27 min: Drop-goal! England 6-3 Argentina (Ford)
Excellent from Ford. And from the No 9 Mitchell, who whips a smart pass to his fly-half after he’s dropped back into the pocket following a strong charge by Tuilagi down the middle. Ford swings smoothly through the ball and his long-range strike floats over for three points! England are in front.
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25 min: Good news for England? They aren’t losing. The score remains locked at 3-3. England rumble a maul forward towards the Argentina 22. There are some powerful carries … Kremer smashes Genge back. Tuilagi then makes a productive dart.
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22 min: Argentina try a snazzy move with a tap penalty from five metres … it doesn’t work, especially when Lawes gets down and dirty, competing for the ball brilliantly, with Montoya on the floor trying in vain to protect it. Penalty England. Ford roars his approval and comes to celebrate with Lawes. In the stands, Borthwick is on his feet too.
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22 min: Argentina camp themselves in the England 22 from their lineout after the 50-22 kick and they batter away for a few seconds with England tackling hard. It’s a knock on by Gallo, but the referee Raynal pulls it back for a penalty against England.
21 min: “I’m slightly worried that the England rugby team are veering into Eurovision territory.” emails Tom. “ … whereby they automatically qualify for competitions based on their legacy, but are repeatedly pasted by other countries whom have become more exciting, creative and professional. Nul points!”
22 min: Matera steals England ball brilliantly. Carreras – or Chocobares, I am not sure – smacks a perfect 50:22 kick that sneaks out at the right-hand corner. Pressure on England as the teams pause for a drinks break.
Carreras yellow card not upgraded
Carreras jogs back on. Argentina are restored to 15 men. England have to play for 60 minutes a man down. Presuming they manage not to have anyone else sent off … Nick Mullins tells us that the foul play review officer is at Roland Garros. Good knowledge.
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18 min: The England scrum-half Mitchell is playing superbly well. He makes a dart into contact and then gives a lovely one-handed pop pass to Ford. England keep the attack moving, Earl gets the ball in space on the right wing, but he opts to kick, and the ball squirts out of play … he had May outside him, looked like the wrong option.
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16 min: Argentina get a rumble on with a rolling maul in their own half. But there is a knock-on, and it will be England’s scrum.
The Carreras incident still being reviewed, … are they going to come up with a way to send him off?
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15 min: At the first scrum of the night, Argentina win a free-kick. Steward takes a straightforward mark in the England 22. With Carreras off, it was Bertranou who took the kick, and he overcooked it.
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13 min: The Argentina No 7 Kremer clatters an onrushing Marchant after some smart work by Mitchell off some scruffy England lineout ball.
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12 min: Meanwhile, the Santi Carreras incident is still being reviewed, when he jumped into George Ford. Argentina are down to 14 men for the moment. But it looked much less likely to be upgraded to a red card.
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10 min: Red card for England! Tom Curry
Disaster strikes for England and for Tom Curry. The openside flanker is sent off, having initially been yellow-carded for a high hit on the Argentina full back Mallia which led to a clash of heads, and the Argentinian player losing some blood from a head wound. That is England’s fourth red card since March, when Freddie Steward was sent off in Dublin. Curry was only just back from injury … and was clearly up for taking the fight to Argentina.
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Penalty! England 3-3 Argentina (Ford)
All square.
9 min: Yellow card for Argentina! Santi Carreras
For the moment, it’s 14-a-side. Carreras, the Gloucester man, leapt in to try and charge down a Ford kick, and flattened him.
By the way, if Curry is not yet off the hook, you have to worry it’s a red card on the way.
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9 min: George Ford is taken late by Santi Carreras as he tries to charge down a kick. It’s a penalty. The referee, Mathieu Raynal, asks for a TMO review.
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8 min: Is anything going to save Tom Curry? His yellow card hit is still being looked at … About four minutes left for the foul play review officer to make the decision.
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7 min: England cough up another penalty by halfway for an infringement by Lawes. Boffelli points for the posts … and he misses the kick, uncharacteristically, starting it outside the right-hand post and failing to draw it in.
Penalty! 4 min: England 0-3 Argentina (Boffelli)
The Argentina wing starts the kick outside the right post, and it draws around perfectly through the posts. It was a bright, dynamic start by England but it lasted all of three minutes. Can they steady the ship after losing Curry to the sin bin, at least?
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4 min: Curry looked particularly charged up before kick-off. He was ready to rip in. And now he’s on the naughty step for 10 minutes at best. A depressingly familiar tale …
3 min: Yellow card for England! Tom Curry
It’s 10 minutes in the bin for Tom Curry, and the foul play review officer can upgrade to a red card.
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3 min: There is a clash of heads between Mallia, the Argentina full back, and Tom Curry who was rushing in to make a tackle. The TMO is having a look … Mallia is covered in blood. This looks like a yellow card at best, but we’ll see. Curry has gone in high.
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2 min: England have started with plenty of physicality. There are some crunching tackles, and collectively they look full of energy. A good hit by Ben Earl in particular. There are two excellent pieces of defensive work by Mitchell, first gathering a high kick under pressure, then fielding a chip over the top by Mallia.
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First half kick-off!
Argentina, wearing blue and white, kick off and Lawes, the England captain, gathers the ball, Mitchell clears. England are wearing their dark blue second kit.
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The anthems are done, and it’s time for some rugby. Nice shots of England and Argentina fans smiling together for a photo in the stands.
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The teams are on the pitch! Kick-off is a mere three minutes away.
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On ITV, Clive Woodward is asked what his final message to his players would be in this situation: “Play with our heads … don’t bottle it, don’t slow down … first lineout off the top, let’s play really quick, and let’s surprise them.”
“Don’t bottle it.” That’s some remarkably useful advice! If only I’d known that, I could have had a career at the top level.
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“Hoping for a good one tonight,” emails Simon McMahon.
“Gerard’s description of the England teams travails in the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Friday put me in mind of this.”
Robert Kitson is in Marseille – where there are significant issues with supporters getting into the stadium:
An awful lot of people still waiting to gain access to the stadium in Marseille with just over 30 mins until kick off.... #ENGvARG pic.twitter.com/amogSx4NqP
— Robert Kitson (@robkitson) September 9, 2023
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Michael Cheika, the Argentina head coach, speaks: “You have your ups and downs on the way to any tournament but overall I’ve been really pleased. Many of the objectives we set out at the start of this journey have materialised. We’re impatient to get started.
“We’ve got a lot of first-gamers in the World Cup. That energy has really pushed the more experienced guys. I always liked that blend of the younger guys pushing through.
“I feel extremely connected to this bunch of guys. They are great people. I’ve been welcomed in Argentina and I feel part of the family. It should be a great day.”
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“The ITV build-up started with pictures of Maradona’s hand of god and thinly veiled references to the Falklands/Malvinas conflict,” emails Eddie. “Both of course profoundly irrelevant in the context of this marvellous occasion. So many English friends of mine don’t get it when the the rest of the world revels in their sporting defeats. Really?
“Best to both, should be a cracker …”
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“It was difficult to choose the starting team, because they are all available,” Michael Cheika said of his Argentina team selection.
“Given the game we imagine it will be, we will have six forwards and two backs in the reserves.”
Pablo Matera (No 6), Marcos Kremer (No 7) and Juan Martin González (No 8) is a heavy-duty back row, and Premiership rugby fans know all about Gloucester’s Santiago Carreras at fly-half.
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England, clearly, have some good players. I think the main difference between now and 2019 is partnerships: specifically, George Kruis / Maro Itoje, and Sam Underhill / Tom Curry. Both Kruis and Underhill are missed for their individual qualities, but also how they helped others perform.
This is the first time England (the men’s team) have played in Marseille since 2007, and the World Cup quarter-final against Australia.
That was the year that England lost a pool match 36-0 to South Africa before making the final … where they lost to South Africa. I spoke to Paul Sackey, Joe Worsley and Simon Shaw about how they did it:
If ever there was a sequence of events to sum up England’s current strife, it happened on Friday morning, in the labyrinthine Stade Vélodrome, the day before their World Cup campaign begins with a mixture of anticipation, relief that it finally gets under way, and dread, because, well, that should be obvious by now.
The team bus arrived for England’s final training session and Steve Borthwick was first off, marching towards the changing rooms, not even blinking – you wonder when he last did – a million thoughts colliding all at once. An hour or two later a clutch of his players ambled through the bowels of the stadium and found themselves wandering apprehensively towards the press room. In other words, totally lost.
The England head coach, Steve Borthwick, speaks to ITV in Marseille: “We’re really looking forward to the game … I sense in the players a real determination. We want to make sure this is a performance the England fans can enjoy tonight.
“Mitch [Alex Mitchell was one of the positives out of our last Test match at Twickenham [the defeat by Fiji] … we’re blessed with a lot of depth at scrum-half. With Danny Care on the bench, it adds a different blend.
“We’ve got experience and some young exciting talent. I’m looking forward to seeing them go.
“The sense I get from the players is one that they feel people have written them off a bit too early … they are looking forward to this fantastic tournament … they’re looking forward to putting forward a level of performance that they can be proud of.”
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“You ask what do England need to do,” Dallaglio says. “They need to win. All the big teams have arrived [this weekend], and they’ve won … to win today they need to be at the level they were at the last World Cup.”
ITV have rolled out the heavy artillery in the studio: Wilkinson, Woodward, Dallaglio.
“This team, when they’re right into it, it’s a completely different picture,” says Wilkinson about England. “If we see that it could be a very different World Cup.”
“He made a big call,” Woodward says of the Mitchell and May inclusions by Borthwick. “They need to play quicker … Cheika will have done his homework … we’ve got to play quicker, we’ve got to surprise them. We’ve got to get some real pace into the game and do stuff they’re not expecting.”
Ireland and Italy both won earlier:
While Australia just saw off Georgia in Pool C:
Teams-wise, Tom Curry returns to the England lineup after injury, which in theory should be a big boost … one of the other notable things is that Alex Mitchell and Jonny May, both of whom missed out on the initial squad, making the starting XV. Much has been made of Mitchell’s inclusion, and there is no doubt he possesses the talent to make England tick in attack.
Michael Cheika has gone for a six-two split bench split, forwards to backs, with Juan Cruz Mallia slotting in at full-back. Julian Montoya of Leicester, who Borthwick knows a thing or two about after his time as head coach at the Tigers, leads them into battle.
Teams
England: Steward, May, Marchant, Tuilagi, Daly, Ford, Mitchell, Genge, George, Cole, Itoje, Chessum, Lawes, Curry, Earl. Replacements: Dan, Marler, Stuart, Martin, Ludlam, Care, Smith, Lawrence.
Argentina: Mallia, Boffelli, Cinti, Chocobares, M. Carreras, S. Carreras, Bertranou, Gallo, Montoya, Gomez Kodela, Alemanno, Lavanini, Matera, Kremer, Gonzalez. Replacements: Creevy, Sclavi, Bello, Petti, Rubiolo, Bruni, Velez, Moroni.
Preamble
Abject performances, embarrassing results, disciplinary headaches, injuries, disappointing attendances, a domestic game in crisis, and an inexperienced head coach who has had relatively little time to prepare: apart from that, England’s lead-in to the Rugby World Cup has been ideal.
Argentina, on the other hand, have been making progress under Michael Cheika and have recorded some of their finest victories in the past year or so, including their first win on New Zealand soil and a late Rugby Championship win over the Wallabies in July. The quality of their starting XV suggests today is the day for their first tournament win over England after three previous defeats.
Can Steve Borthwick’s side banish the all-encompassing gloom that’s been hanging over them recently, or will Argentina deliver the widely expected victory that will open up a path into the quarter-finals from Pool D? We’ll know more in a couple of hours …
Kick-off: 8pm UK time
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