England v Argentina: preview, teams and stats
Preview, teams and key stats ahead of England's third fixture of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
England welcome back Mako Vunipola and Jack Nowell into their matchday 23 for Saturday's clash against Argentina (KO 9am).
Head coach Eddie Jones has also opted for a George Ford and Owen Farrell axis for their third match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Having won their opening two Pool C fixtures, England come up against an Argentina side who have been defeated by France, while beating Tonga.
Nicolas Sanchez has been left out of the Argentina side meaning Benjamin Urdapilleta will start at No 10.
Head coach Mario Ledesma has also chosen to leave former captain Agustin Creevy among the replacements, with hooker Julian Montoya rewarded for his 26-minute hat-trick in last week’s victory over Tonga.
- When? Saturday 5 October
- Kick-off? 0900 BST
- Where? Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo
- Coverage? ITV and BBC Radio 5 live, live updates on EnglandRugby.com
Views from the camp
England head coach Eddie Jones: “We are in Tokyo for the first time and the players are excited to be here and have had a good week’s preparation so far. We know Argentina are a very good team and our players will be ready for the game.
“Argentina is a completely different team from others we have played so far in the pool stages and are always about the physical contest. This week it’s about getting our game right, our set piece in a good place and making sure defensively we are organised and ready to find ways to score points against them.”
Argentina head coach Mario Ledesma: “I think the battle with the forwards will be the game.
“We need to win the scrum, win the line-out, win the maul, win the contact and win the breakdown.”
Previous encounters
- 2013: England 32-3 Argentina (Salta)
- 2013: England 51-26 Argentina (Buenos Aires)
- 2013: England 31-12 Argentina (Twickenham)
- 2016: England 27-14 Argentina (Twickenham)
- 2017: England 38-34 Argentina (San Juan)
- 2017: England 35-25 Argentina (Sante Fe)
- 2017: England 21-8 Argentina (Twickenham)
Key stats
England have won each of their last nine Test matches against Argentina, their last defeat against the Pumas coming in June 2009 in Salta, a game which took place whilst the British & Irish Lions were touring South Africa.
This will be the third Rugby World Cup clash between England and Argentina, England won the previous two meetings in 1995 (24-18) and 2011 (13-9).
England have scored 21 tries and conceded just one in their last three Rugby World Cup matches, scoring 4+ tries in three consecutive games for the first time in the tournament.
Argentina’s win against Tonga in their last match ended a run of 10 consecutive defeats in Test rugby for the Pumas, their worst ever losing run.
England have won six of their last 10 Rugby World Cup matches in which they have been trailing at half-time, including their pool stage meeting with Argentina in 2011, overall England have come from behind at the break to win seven World Cup games, more than any other side.
After beating Tonga in their last game Argentina are looking to record back to back wins in Test rugby for the first time since beating Italy and then France on the spin in June 2016.
Player landmarks
Ben Youngs will start his 92nd game for his country becoming the third most capped England men’s player behind Dylan Hartley (97) and Jason Leonard (114). Dan Cole will equal Youngs if he features in the game off the bench.
Agustin Creevy is set to become the most-capped player in Argentinian history if he comes off the bench on Saturday, with the Jaguares forward poised for his 88th appearance to overtake the previous record held by former fly-half Felipe Contepomi.
Billy Vunipola made his England debut in a game against Argentina in 2013, scoring a try in that match.
Teams
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Joe Marler, 2 Jamie George, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 George Kruis, 6 Tom Curry, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Billy Vunipola.
Finishers: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jack Nowell.
Argentina: 15 Emiliano Boffelli; 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Santigo Carreras; 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Tomas Cubelli; 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Julian Montoya, 3 Juan Figallo; 4 Guido Petti,5 Tomas Lavanini; 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Javier Ortega Desio.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Lucas Mensa, 23 Bautista Delguy.
