Live match centre for Argentina v England in the Rugby World Cup 23 bronze final.

25 Oct 2023 | 7 min |

Preview: Argentina v England

Everything you need to know ahead of England's RWC Bronze Final encounter against Argentina in Paris

England faced South Africa in their semi-final clash last weekend at the Stade de France, where 15 points from Owen Farrell were not enough to topple the Springboks.

Supporters' Guide to Paris

Handre Pollard's 78th-minute penalty made the score 15-16 at full-time to secure a spot in the final against New Zealand, who beat Argentina 42-6 in their semi-final.

A second meeting with Los Pumas at the 2023 Rugby World Cup now awaits Steve Borthwick's men in the Bronze Final; George Ford kicked his side to a 27-10 victory in the opening Pool D game between the two sides on 9 September.

Friday 27 October

Stade de France

20:00 BST

ITV

Eight changes have been made to the side that ran out in last week's semi-final, with a brand new front row in Ellis Genge, Theo Dan and Will Stuart set to start. Ollie Chessum returns to the starting XV, while Sam Underhill will make his first appearance at the 2023 Rugby World Cup on the openside flank.

Ben Youngs will earn his 127th and final England cap from the starting lineup. He announced that he would be retiring from International rugby following the Rugby World Cup, and lines up alongside Owen Farrell.

Youngs' most memorable matches

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: Ben Youngs of England looks on during the Summer International match between England and Wales at Twickenham Stadium on August 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

It's an unchanged midfield, while the back three sees Freddie Steward shifted to the right wing from full back. Marcus Smith will return in the 15 position, while Henry Arundell starts on the left wing.

WHERE TO WATCH

ITV will be broadcasting every Rugby World Cup fixture live.
For the travelling rugby fan, check out our supporters' guide to Paris.

TEAM NEWS

England

15. Marcus Smith, 14. Freddie Steward, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Manu Tuilagi, 11. Henry Arundell, 10. Owen Farrell, 9. Ben Youngs, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Theo Dan, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Ollie Chessum, 6. Tom Curry, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Ben Earl

Replacements

16. Jamie George, 17. Bevan Rodd, 18. Dan Cole, 19. David Ribbans, 20. Lewis Ludlam, 21. Danny Care, 22. George Ford, 23. Ollie Lawrence

Argentina

15. Juan Cruz Mallia, 14. Emiliano Boffelli, 13. Lucio Cinti, 12. Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11. Mateo Carreras, 10. Santiago Carreras, 9. Tomas Cubelli, 1. Thomas Gallo, 2. Julian Montoya (C), 3. Francisco Gómez Kodela, 4. Guido Petti, 5. Pedro Rubiolo, 6. Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7. Marcos Kremer, 8. Facundo Isa

Replacements

16. Agustín Creevy, 17. Joel Sclavi, 18. Eduardo Bello, 19. Matias Alemanno, 20. Rodrigo Bruni, 21. Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22. Nicolas Sanchez, 23. Matías Moroni

VIEWS FROM CAMP

Steve Borthwick: "Our motivation is simple. We want to win on Friday night against a very good Argentina side. This squad has progressed throughout the tournament and we want to see that continue this weekend. This is our second six-day turnaround between some intense games, so we have made some alterations to make sure that we have the energy and intensity required to come up against the strong opposition we're going to face.

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 25: Steve Borthwick, Head Coach of England speaks to the media following a training session at Institut National du Sport on October 25, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

"All the players want to produce a top quality performance every time they go out onto a rugby pitch in an England shirt. There are a number of players who will not be in the England team following the World Cup, as they've publicly said, and we want to make sure that this is a performance that is fitting of the effort and progress that been made."

"Ben has been a tremendous player for England Rugby for such a long time. Our record cap holder, a player who has seen a lot over the course of four World Cups and has played an important role in this campaign in helping the team progress through the tournament. He's a brilliant player and a fantastic team man".

STATS

England have won 11 of their last 12 Test matches against Argentina (L1), including a 27-10 win in the pool stage of this year’s Rugby World Cup; however, England failed to score a try in this last encounter with the Pumas after scoring at least one in each of their previous 19 meetings.

England have won each of their previous four Rugby World Cup meetings with the Pumas, with those clashes all coming in the pool stage (1995, 2011, 2019, 2023).

This will be the fourth time that two teams have faced each other twice in an edition of the Rugby World Cup, with the team who won the first clash going on to win the second encounter on all three previous occasions (Argentina v France in 2007, South Africa v England in 2007 & New Zealand v France in 2011).

Argentina will be playing in the Bronze Final for the third time at the Rugby World Cup, they won at this stage against France in 2007 (34-10) but lost against South Africa in 2015 (13-24); only New Zealand (4 times) will have featured in the third-place game more often than the Pumas (Wales and France also 3).

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

2023 England 27-10 Argentina | Stade de Marseille

2022 England 29-30 Argentina | Twickenham Stadium

2019 England 39-10 Argentina | Tokyo Stadium

2017 England 21-8 Argentina | Twickenham Stadium

2017 Argentina 25-35 England | Estadio Colón

2017 Argentina 34-38 England | Estadio Bicentenario

2016 England 27-14 Argentina | Twickenham Stadium

FIXTURES AND RESULTS

Summer Series

Wales 20-9 England

England 19-17 Wales

Ireland 29-10 England

England 22-30 Fiji

Rugby World Cup 2023 - Group Stages

England 27-10 Argentina

England 34-12 Japan

England 71-0 Chile

England 18-17 Samoa

Quarter-Final

England 30-24 Fiji

Semi-Final

England 15-16 South Africa

Bronze Final

Argentina v England - Stade de France - 27/10/23 - 20:00 BST

Rugby World Cup

27 Oct 2023 | 5 min | 2

England beat Argentina in Bronze Medal Final

England triumphed over Los Pumas for the second time this tournament, running out 26-23 winners at Stade de France, to finish third at Rugby World Cup 2023.

Tries from Ben Earl and Theo Dan, as well as 16 points from the boot of captain Owen Farrell saw them triumph over Argentina, whose points came via Tomas Cubelli, Santiago Carreras, Emiliano Boffelli and Nicolas Sanchez.

England set a rapid pace to the Test as Farrell knocked over his first penalty from 38-metres inside the opening three minutes, after Tom Curry - earning his 50th Test cap - forced a penalty at the breakdown.

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 27: Emiliano Boffelli of Argentina attempts to tackle Ben Earl of England as he scores his team's first try during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 Bronze Final match between Argentina and England at Stade de France on October 27, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Just four minutes later Earl burst through the Argentine line to score his first Test try. Farrell the catalyst, took the ball flat to the line and hit Marcus Smith behind the dummy run of Manu Tuilagi, before quick hands from the Harlequin saw Earl put into space and over the whitewash. Farrell added the extras to make it 10-0.

Farrell kept the scoreboard ticking over when opting for another three-pointer on 13 minutes, and although Boffelli bagged a penalty of his own shortly after to get Michael Cheika's men off the mark, England's captain restored the 13-point lead with his third penalty as half hour passed in the Test.

But momentum shifted toward the south Americans as half time approached, and scrum half Cubelli scuttled over from close range for Los Pumas' opening try, with Boffelli's extras cutting the deficit to six points at the break.

The half time stats showed a competitive affair: England making more metres and carries, with the men in blue boasting more offloads and defenders beaten. The Match Centre highlighted Earl as the standout performer of the first half, making 40 metres with his four carries, and beating two defenders.

Early into the resumption fly half Carreras ghosted through a gap and scampered away to score Argentina's second try of the match, with Boffelli's conversion handing them a lead for the first time, though it was to be short lived.

Hooker Dan charged down the kick of Carreras off the restart, before calmly collecting and dotting it down under the sticks to give Farrell the easiest of conversions, and put England back in the ascendancy at 23-17.

Applause rang around Stade de France for Ben Youngs as he bowed out of Test rugby on 127 caps - Steve Borthwick brought on Danny Care in his place, just before Boffelli powered another penalty over the posts, to make it a three point game.

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 27: Theo Dan of England attempts to control the ball during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 Bronze Final match between Argentina and England at Stade de France on October 27, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Farrell continued his fine form off the tee firing a third penalty over on 65 minutes, and in doing so became the tournament's highest point scorer, but replacement Sanchez was quick to cancel it out with an effort of his own moments later.

Sanchez missed a match-levelling penalty with five minutes remaining, and England held on to confirm the win. They have now won 12 of their last 13 Test matches against Argentina.

Teams

England

Replacements

16. Jamie George, 17. Bevan Rodd, 18. Dan Cole, 19. David Ribbans, 20. Lewis Ludlam, 21. Danny Care, 22. George Ford, 23. Ollie Lawrence.

Argentina

Replacements

16. Agustín Creevy, 17. Joel Sclavi, 18. Eduardo Bello, 19. Matias Alemanno, 20. Rodrigo Bruni, 21. Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22. Nicolas Sanchez, 23. Matías Moroni.