England vs. Argentina Rugby Union Preview
13th November, 2009
England will host Argentina on Saturday at Twickenham and will hope to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to Australia.
Martin Johnson’s men were defeated 18-9 by the Wallabies and he knows that much improvement is needed against Argentina who will be looking for another famous victory at Twickenham. The Pumas have improved immeasurably in recent years and will represent a stern challenge.
Johnny Wilkinson believes that England will show grit and determination in order to prove their critics wrong. England were very good in the first half against the Aussies, but ran out of steam in the second half.
He told BBC Sport "We are a team that wants to play with the ball. We want to score tries and I think they'll come," said the 2003 world cup winner. "The confidence in the squad is still good and we showed that, when we're on our game we can cause the best sides problems,"
Coach Johnson will make four changes to the starting line up from last week. Northampton Hooker Dylan Hartley, Bath prop Duncan Bell, flanker James Haskell and London Irish scrum-half Paul Hodgson.
Quite often during the Australia match, England struggled with the sheer physical power that their opponents had. The Argentine pack is regarded as best scrummaging outfit in the world and this could prove to be a major problem for England.
However, Argentina’s world class playmakers Juan Martin Hernandez and Felipe Contepomi will be absent plus wingers Gonzalo Camacho and Lucas Amorosini will also be missing.
England is 1/4 with Bluesq and Argentina is 4/1 with Sportingbet. The draw is 25/1 with Paddy Power.
By Dane
