RWC Match Preview - Argentina vs England

[Getofmeland]

Argentina v England

In the last month both of these sides have played warm up games in Cardiff that went very much along the same lines, both teams dominated Wales for the first 30 minutes of their respective games and failed to establish a significant lead. Wales' defence stood strong in the face of some prolonged attacking phases from both team's forward packs and later on in both game Wales came back and ended up winning both games.

It's difficult to avoid the cliché of describing both of these sides as physical, forward based teams and as they look to find their feet in the World Cup tournament they will both look to establish a solid platform for the rest of the competition by asserting their power over their opponents. England should have a slight edge over the Pumas in this department if only as their pack has the much younger and fresher appearance. Argentina's pack will have a considerable edge in experience but with the athleticism of players like Courtney Lawes, Matt Stevens and Dylan Hartley and a possible back row combination of James Haskell, Tom Croft alongside the always impressive Tom Wood the Argentinian's will surely struggle to outlast their English counterparts. However in Mario Ledesma, Rodrigo Roncero, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Juan Manuel Leguizamon Argentina have 4 of the most experienced players in the history of Heineken Cup rugby so if they are able to influence the game skill and impose their collective will upon the tempo of the match England's forwards may be unable to generate the quick ball that their half backs need to effect their game plan.

England's game plan will vary depending on who they select at 10, the man seen as the form horse during the last 12 months and the man who guided them to a victorious 6 Nations campaign was Toby Flood but his inept showing in Cardiff has raised question marks over his position. Flood's inability to break down the Welsh defence in Cardiff or to find any space for his outside backs to exploit must have been a worry for Martin Johnson. While England refused to kick for goal during the first half of that game when they could have easily built a lead with Wales conceding more than a few penalties their failure to score a try was noticeable and noteworthy as it was the first time in 14 test matches and it lead to Johnny Wilkinson being reinstalled in the 10 shirt for the following warm game away to Ireland. If Flood starts at Fly Half then expect England to play a more expansive game and try to release their newest weapon Outside Centre Manu Tuilagi who has scored 2 tries in just 2 International starts. However if Wilkinson is preferred at 10 then it will become a showdown between 2 playmakers who have spent the last 2 season playing for RC Toulonnais in France's Top 14. Wilkinson may not be the most exciting option at 10 but his solid defence and his ability to keep the score board ticking over will surely appeal to Johnson in a game that should be very evenly matched and could go down to the wire.Argentina will be missing their mercurial playmaker Juan Martin Hernandez but in Felipe Contepomi they have a player who has played 71 test matches, including 13 at World Cup tournaments. He is 34 years old so he will be unlikely to beat many defenders on the outside but he will use all of his experience to move his forward pack around the field and dictate the tempo of the game.

England should win this game but Argentina did finish 3rd​ in the World Cup in France 4 years ago so they will be no pushovers. England do have one major asset that Argentina cannot compete with, Johnny Wilkinson has an almost unbelievable record in World Cup matches, he scores on average 16.6 points in every game he has played in compared to Contepomi's 7.6