Rugby World Cup Game Preview - England vs Argentina
England will have 10 World Cup debutants in their starting XV when they take on Argentina in Dunedin on Saturday.
Ben Foden, Chris Ashton, Manu Tuilagi, Delon Armitage, Richard Wigglesworth, Dan Cole, Louis Deacon, Courtney Lawes, Tom Croft and James Haskell will all make their bows on rugby's biggest stage.
Armitage returns to the team after regular winger Mark Cueto was ruled out with a back injury he picked up against Ireland two weeks ago, the London Irish flyer replaced Cueto that day and grabbed a crucial try in the second half.
Manager Martin Johnson admitted that brining Armitage back into the side was a "simple decision , after two brilliant performances in the warm-up games. It is a remarkable return for the player who made his debut under Johnson three years ago, but was banned twice this year after disciplinary issues.
But there is no doubt that he has rediscovered his form and will bring even more pace to an already explosive back-three. Should he perform to his maximum while Cueto is out it could be very difficult for Johnson to recall the Sale man.
At scrum-half Wigglesworth keeps his place with Ben Youngs still not ready for his first start since his knee operation. The Saracens man showed great maturity and control in Dublin, his control of the forwards will be key to the outcome of the game.
Up-front Johnson has tried to match the power of the Pumas by selecting his biggest front-row available with Andrew Sheridan, Steve Thompson and Dan Cole getting the nod.
These three certainly went well in Ireland, and will relish the challenge of testing themselves against one of the best scrimmaging outfits on the planet. With Dylan Hartley and Matt Stevens will provide brilliant impact from the bench.
One of the shock selections comes in the second-row where Louis Deacon starts ahead of Tom Palmer. The Stade Francais lock looked set to start alongside Courtney Lawes after being one of the star players in the Six Nations, but Johnson has opted for Deacon who is a real workhorse but lacks that touch of class Palmer brings.
In the back-row Nick Easter returns at number eight, after he missed the last game due to a calf injury. Easter's return forces Haskell to move back to open-side flanker, with Croft retaining his place at six.
The more adventurous selection would have been to stick with Haskell at eight and bringing Tom Wood in at seven. But Johnson has stuck with his experienced performers, and Wood will have to make his impact off the bench.
Argentina have made one change to the side that lost to Wales in their final warm-up game. With former London Irish centre Gonzalo Tiesi replacing Marcelo Bosch at 13. In the pack 38 year-old Mario Ledesma will become the third oldest player in the history of the tournament.
He will pack down alongside Rodrigo Roncero, who is appearing in his third World Cup, and Juan Figallo who has held of the challenge of Martin Scelzo. It is testament to the 23 year-olds ability that he has earned a place ahead of Scelzo who has all the experience in the world, and he will be looking forward to getting stuck into his English counterparts.
The front-row will once again be the key to Argentina's hopes of reaching the knock-out stages, but there are question marks hanging over them in terms of fitness. They looked completely drained after 50 minutes in Cardiff and if England will look to take advantage of this.
Argentina's star man is the back-row, if Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe has one of his usual all-action performances then England could be have a real problem. He can change a game in a moment, and Easter will have to be on guard for the whole game.
Captain Felipe Contepomi will also need to be at the top of his game in the absence of Juan Martin Hernandez. Like Lobbe the Stade Francais man is a match winner, he will need to put his team in the right areas if they want to grab the win.
This game will be a massive battle up front, the Pumas pack is much vaunted around the world and England know they won't get an easy ride. It will be a superb battle at fly-half with Jonny Wilkinson going up against his former team-mate Contepomi, but the Englishman is in great form and his kicking may once again be the difference.
I just feel that Argentina will tire going into the last 20 minutes, and with the likes of Foden, Ashton and Tuilagi on the field England will pull away and claim a hard fought but comfortable win.
England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Mike Tindall (c), 11 Delon Armitage, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 1 Andrew Sheridan, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Louis Deacon, 5 Courtney Lawes, 6 Tom Croft, 7 James Haskell, 8 Nick Easter.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Tom Wood, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Matt Banahan.
Argentina: 15 Martin Rodriguez, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Gonzalo Camacho, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Martin Scelzo, 18 Mariano Galarza, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Marcelo Bosch, 22 Juan Jose Imhoff.
Prediction
England 28-13 Argentina
