SWEET CHARIOT HITS TOP SPEED
Fit and firing England primed to mow down Pumas and clinch place in the last eight
quarter-finals. Win this morning and Jones’s men will have qualified with a game to spare — the pool finale against France in Yokohama next Saturday.
These two clashes were seen as the first means of assessing England’s title credentials. When the draw was made way back in May 2017, this was perceived to be the proverbial ‘pool of death’, with three leading nations forced to scrap for the top two places.
From now on, all England’s opponents will, theoretically at least, have pedigree and pose a threat. Jones was asked yesterday if his squad are ready to prove they have acquired sufficient big-game temperament and nous to cope with the magnitude of weekly grand occasions.
He replied: ‘It’s like a tea bag, isn’t it? You don’t know how good it is until you put it in hot water.’
When England take the plunge today, their head coach certainly believes they are good enough to cope. Correction, he evidently believes they are good enough to dominate what is sure to be a high-impact contest. He was full of bullish talk yesterday, saying: ‘Physically, we are in the best position we have been in.
‘We were absolutely flying in training this morning. The players are looking fit, fast, brutal and ready to go.
‘When you play Argentina, it’s a test of manhood, so you have to take them on up front — scrum, maul, ruck attack, ruck defence. That’s where it will be won.’
The collisions won’t be for the faint-hearted. Argentina know after their opening defeat by France that if they lose again they are out. So these Pumas will give body and soul to the cause.
But England are equally primed for what Argentina hooker Agustin Creevy said would be a ‘war’ on the field. The favourites have used the Puma captain’s well- intended remark about English rugby sometimes being ‘ boring’ as a tool to get them in the mood for a fire- andbrimstone duel.
Owen Farrell and Co are determined to prove they trump the South Americans for force as well as finesse. Galvanised by a perceived slight, they are capable of seizing control of the set-piece battle against a country still trying to rebuild their lost reputation for scrummaging.
England will also hope once again to deploy their rolling maul as a potent try-scoring asset, just as they did against the USA in Kobe nine days ago.
Jones refused to describe his team as favourites yesterday, insisting that was for the media to decide. Well, the decision was already made. They are clear favourites, so much so that it would be a seismic shock if they lose to opponents who last beat them a decade ago.
There may have been much derision aimed at the world rankings of late, but England are third, the Pumas are 10th and that seems a fair reflection of this match-up.
Argentina had lost 10 Tests in a row before they recorded an unconvincing victory over Tonga last weekend, despite failing to score a point in the second half. While their Jaguares reached the Super Rugby final this year, the national team have been in decline since the last World Cup.
They reached the semi-finals in 2015, as they did in 2007 when current head coachch Mario Ledesma was the hooker in a magnificent nifis team. He has a major rebuilding g project on his hands now and this is surely too soon for him to be burdened by unrealistic expectations.
Argentina fought t back and could d have beaten France, ce, perhaps they should ould have beaten them.m. But they fell agonisinglygly short and now they are staring at a pool-stage exit.
The scenario is prompting varied reactions within their squad. Fly-half Benjamin Urdapilleta, a shock inclusion ahead of the more established Nicolas Sanchez, said: ‘We are confident. I don’t want to use the word lose, but this is a crucial game with lots of pressure. We should use this as motivation.’
In contrast, full-back Emiliano Boffelli added: ‘I feel no pressure about this game. We want to show what Argentina rugby is about.’
They can be expected to put up a fight. Anything less would be a betrayal of their proud rugby heritage. But England have such a vast array oof firepower. TThey have ballcarrying, caballcarrying, superskilful skilsuper skilful front-rowers, athleathletic and imposing ingimposing locks,loc a young and dynamic back-row and an experienced, familiar and balanced creative hub behind the scrum — Ben Youngs, George Ford and Farrell. Manu Tuilagi’s resurgence has been a timely boost and there is express pace and guile out wide. Jones knows he is unleashing a team awash with potency and class. No wonder he is bullish. It is near enough the same side who put 57 points on Ireland last month. England will do well to repeat that but they are capable of emphatically dispatching the Pumas from this tournament and igniting their campaign in style.