England to front up against Argentina but how does it compare to 2007?
Earlier in the week it was announced that England will head into their Pool B contest against Argentina without the services of Captain Lewis Moody.
The 33-year-old's absence comes following the reoccurrence of the ligament injury picked up during England's first World Cup warm-up match against Wales last month.
The loss of Moody from the forward pack has led commentators to look at how the side will fair against a physical eight in the form of Argentina.
It is former England Captain Martin Corry's belief that Martin Johnson's men can ill afford to underestimate the Pumas.
In an interview with BBC Sport Corry stated: "A lot of what they do comes from what their forwards can generate and what they can spoil. Both with and without the ball.
"That means there will need to be a lot of pick and drives from England. It will not be pretty but it's all about opening up with a win.
Of the 67 caps achieved by Moody two have come in World Cup finals. The World Cup winning forward pack can be considered by many as the best England have ever possessed, but how do the 2007 finalists compare to Saturdays line up?
Nick Easter was the man in possession of the number eight jersey, in front of England talisman Lawrence Dallaglio, for the 2007 final in Paris and the same is set to be the case come Saturday.
In the absence of Lewis Moody there can be no doubting that England will be lacking at the breakdown, however with James Haskell expected to deputise a certain amount of physicality is added by the former Stade Francais open side.
If you are to make a like for like comparison between the then blindside in 2007 with the current occupant of the number six shirt then Martin Corry and Tom Croft are two completely different animals. Martin Corry provided a certain amount of abrasion to the England back row but Crofts blistering pace gives this current England back row a certain jene ne sais queoi leading me to conclude that this current England trio offers more than that of 2007.
In the second row England possess a combination of physicality and athleticism in the form of Courtney Lawes. When likened to that of Ben Kay and Simon Shaw in 2007 Lawes' dynamism around the park far outweighs anything afforded by Kay and Shaw. Personally, I am astonished by the selection of Louis Deacon in the second-row. Temperamentally he is a liability and in my view was extremely lucky to be in the travelling 30 for the tournament. Give me Tom Palmer or the Simon Shaw from 2007, Martin Johnson's first mistake of the tournament.
Only one survivor from the front row of 2007 remains in the form of Andrew Sheridan who following his return against Ireland is expected to prop against the Argentine front row. If Sheridan can rekindle the form that saw him decimate both the Australian and French scrums en route to the final then England's pack will gain a strong foothold in the battle against an experienced Puma scrummage.
It was the evergreen Mark Regan who hooked against the South Africans four years ago and following impressive performances in England's warm-up games a fellow old-head in the form of Steve Thompson is set to pull on the number two shirt. Likewise, as with Sheridan, if Thompson can rekindle his best form then there can be no comparison between himself and Regan come Dunedin.
Leicester's Dan Cole is most likely to complete the England front row and when compared to the Raging Bull that was Phil Vickery there can be no doubting that even at his best Cole would find himself edged out if it was toss-up between the two tight heads.
Argentina coach Santiago Phelan announced his side to face England on Tuesday with the front row consisting of 23 year-old prop Juan Figallo in front of experienced Martin Scelzo.
Figallo is to partner hooker Mario Ledesma who is 15 years his senior, with fly-half Felipe Contepomi appearing in his fourth World Cup.
Even as the top seed in the pool it is hard to see Argentina emulating their third-place finish of four years ago, especially without fly-half Juan Martin Hernandez, however when speaking to BBC Sport Contepomi moved fast to play down the loss of Hernandez and his teams disrupted World Cup preparations.
"We've only played one Test match in the last 11 months, so naturally we're looking forward to growing up as a team throughout the tournament.
"Our expectation is to come and play our best and if we can be competitive on Saturday, that will be great and start the tournament as best we can.
