England face tough start with Argentina followed by Japan
Jones’ team to play hardest group rivals within nine days France take on New Zealand to open the 2023 World Cup
Eddie Jones, the England head coach, will be hell-bent on arranging tough warm-up games for the 2023 World Cup in France, after the release of the match schedule pitted his team against their two toughest group opponents, Argentina and Japan, within nine days.
England have lost their opening games of the past two Six Nations tournaments, to France and Scotland, and Jones is aware that a repeat of such indifferent form could see one of the perennial favourites battling to qualify for the knockout stages.
Jones will not make the mistake of assuming that the opening weekend fixture against Argentina at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Sept 9 is the toughest hurdle for his team, given that Japan follow immediately in Pool D.
That match is in Nice on Sept 17. The optimist would say that England might have qualified by midseptember, while the pessimist would worry that they might not hit the ground running and be out of contention very quickly.
Alternatively, it could also be argued that, with easier fixtures to finish, against probably either Tonga or Samoa and either Canada or the United States, England might be undercooked for the knockout stages. At least Jones has got his wish of being in warm climes for the start of the tournament. The last two pool games will be in Lille.
The Pumas will be difficult opponents in their own right given their World Cup pedigree, conquerors (17-12) of hosts France on opening night in Paris in 2007, and perennial knockout stage contenders, but Japan are the banana skin, as Jones knows better than anyone after coaching the Brave Blossoms to the biggest upset in World Cup history when they beat South Africa in Brighton in 2015. Japan went on to prove that success was no flash-inthe-pan when defeating both Ireland and Scotland in their pool on home soil in 2019. They are no longer considered minnows.
There has been great fanfare about World Rugby’s decision to extend the tournament to eight weeks to facilitate greater recovery time between matches and provide a more equitable spread of rest periods.
Even so, there are some anomalies, with Namibia subject to three five-day turnarounds, while Italy have only six days between their key assignments in Pool A, against New Zealand and France. The Oceania qualifier also has two five-days gaps. New Zealand, France, Wales and
England have only one five-day turnaround.
Of some concern, too, for the broader marketing of the event, will be the lull for some high-profile nations, with England having a 13-day period between their third and fourth matches, a fate that also affects Ireland and New Zealand at some point. Hosts France have a two-week gap.
Nonetheless, there is a thrilling feel to what is the 10th Rugby World Cup with France facing New Zealand in Paris in a blockbuster opener on Friday, Sept 8. The frisson continues through the weekend with Marseille the centrepiece as England take on Argentina followed the next day by South Africa v Scotland.
Details of ticket applications will be released on March 4.