England v Argentina preview: Los Pumas to pounce on below-par England

After months of build-up the Rugby World Cup is finally upon us, but for England fans, spirits may not be too high. Here we will take a look at the opening fixture in Pool D as England take on Argentina.

We preview both teams below.

Steer clear of uninspiring England

England find themselves with their backs against the wall before a ball has even been kicked at this tournament and Steve Borthwick has a lot do if he is to inspire a win here.

It is not a nice start for Borthwick as his captain Owen Farrell and star Number 8 Billy Vunipola are both unavailable for the first game, not to mention that Argentina are England’s toughest opponents in Pool D.

Usually, England would be clear favourites for this fixture but their poor form heading into the tournament sees the level with their opponents at 10/11, and even that doesn’t seem like great value given how poor Borthwick’s men have been as of late.

One angle which could provide value is backing England to perform in the first half. Despite the scoreline running against them more often than not in the build-up to the World Cup, England led at half-time in three of their four matches in August. The Red Roses are bumped up to Evens to be ahead at the 40-minute mark and the trends suggest that this provides much better value.

With two of the biggest names in English rugby out of this fixture, it will be up to someone else to step up to the mark. Jonny May has been a reliable source of tries for England over the years and his teammates will hope that he can help propel them to victory. If he can get over the line in this game, May’s odds of 25/1 to be the top try scorer at the tournament could shorten, provided England look like progressing into the latter stages.

Los Pumas to set the precedent in Pool D

Argentina have come a long way since 1999 when they rocked up to a World Cup with just five professionals in their squad, and this tournament is their best opportunity to date to lay down a marker on world rugby.

Los Pumas head into this World Cup as the highest-ranking side from Pools C and D with expectations setting a quarter-final appearance as the bare minimum. Their odds of 1/25 to qualify from Pool D support those expectations but they won’t wont to fall at the first hurdle after the pools, hoping to reach a second semi-final (11/10) in three tournaments.

At 10/11, the market suggests that Argentina provide an even test for England, but they will likely consider themselves favourites as the side in a much richer vain of form, with world rankings to back that up.

Head coach Michael Cheika will want his side to take the game to England and there is no better way to do that than by getting the first points on the board. Argentina have a pacey, highly-skilled back line with Matteo Carreras finishing off moves for fun. Carreras will hope to dot over against England to get his scoring campaign underway and outperform his 20/1 expectations to be the tournaments top try scorer.