2011 Rugby World Cup Pool Match Preview: England vs Argentina
England will start as the favourites over Argentina in their 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) pool match. However, the match promises more excitement particularly as the Pumas have the potential and players to upset the favourites.
England will take on their South American rivals, Los Pumas, at Otago Stadium, Dunedin on Saturday, September 10. England is currently ranked 5th on the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) World Rankings, while Argentina is currently ranked 9th.
Both teams have an altogether different build up for the global event, in which English edged past the Argentina as the later did not have many competitive international game, besides their 2011 Six Nations tournament.
The match will be characterised by intense competition and struggle in the set pieces or the scrums. The teams’ strength seconds the expectation, as Argentina will be counting on their halfback pair performances while the English will be relying heavily
on their backs.
Los Pumas will enter the match with confidence, following their impressive 2007 RWC endeavours, in which they finished third in the tournament.
England head coach, Martin Johnson is wary of Argentina’s capability. He added that he expects a tight game. He also said, “You like to pigeonhole these teams and I'm not going to try to even stop it, its fine. But I've said all week they can play a bit
more than people give them credit for.”
England’s stand in captain, James Haskell, who will lead his side in the absence of their injured captain, Lewis Moody, has praised the Pumas strength at the scrums. He said, “I have played with a number of their forwards at Stade Francais. We know what
Argentina is about, they are very passionate but so are we. They are passionate guys, very experienced; Rodrigo Roncero has been around for ages and is a great player.”
However, Haskell has expressed his confidence that the talent and the diversity in their squad, makes them distant from any other team in the 2011 RWC.
Pumas captain, Felipe Contepomi, added that he will not be targeting any specific individual players and will concentrate on neutralising England as a whole. He has praised England’s veteran and World Cup winning fly half, Jonny Wilkinson. He said, “He is
one of these players that does not come around that often. He is one of the best players in the world and a great man and that makes him even better.”
Both coaches have announced their match day squad:
Argentina
Starting XV: Martin Rodriguez, Gonzalo Camacho, Gonzalo Tiesi, Santiago Fernandez, Horacio Agulla, Felipe Contepomi (captain), Nicolas Vergallo; Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Juan Martin Leguizamon, Julio Farias Cabello, Patricio Albacete, Manuel Carizza,
Juan Figallo, Mario Ledesma, Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: Agustin Creevy, Martin Scelzo, Mariano Galarza, Alejandro Campos, Alfredo Lalanne, Marcelo Bosch, Juan Imhoff.
England
Starting XV: Ben Foden, Chris Ashton, Manu Tuilagi, Mike Tindall (captain), Delon Armitage, c, Richard Wigglesworth; Nick Easter, James Haskell, Tom Croft, Courtney Lawes, Louis Deacon, Dan Cole, Steve Thompson, Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: Dylan Hartley, Matt Stevens, Tom Palmer, Tom Wood, Ben Youngs, Toby Flood, Matt Banahan
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