Test Match: Argentina Face England at Twickenham

14.11.2009
Argentina v England at Twickenham

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Preview
The quality of a team is not necessarily the 15 players who line up for their anthems. It's the next fifteen players in the squad waiting to take somebody's place. This theory is about to be tested when England and Argentina walk out onto Twickenham.

England's injury woes has been well documented. Johnson has selected the best available players and he has largely stuck to the team that failed against Australia last weekend. Another loss and the English fan and media will start to get stuck into M.J.

Argentina will also be playing without some name players. Out are Hernández and Leguizamon. The question is just how good are the next rung of players. The point though is..do not underestimate Argentina! England has done that on occasions in the past and has paid the price. Watch out for that Argentine pack! They'll push you all over the park.

This will be the third time this year these two teams have met. The score so far is 1-1. It couldn't be closer

Last Five Encounters
13.06.2009 Argentina 24-22 in Salta
06.06.2009 England 37-15 in Manchester
11.11.2006 Argentina 25-18 at Twickenham
22.06.2002 England 26-18 in Buenos Aires
25.11.2000 England 19-0 at Twickenham

GWC Rugby Rankings: World Table-England 7th, Argentina 8th

Prediction: England to just outlast the Argies, and win by 5 points.

Teams

England
15 Ugo Monye
14 Mark Cueto
13 Daniel Hipkiss
12 Shane Geraghty
11 Matthew Banahan
10 Jonny Wilkinson
9 Paul Hodgson
8 James Haskell
7 Lewis Moody
6 Thomas Croft
5 Steve Borthwick, Capt.
4 Louis Deacon
3 Duncan Bell
2 Dylan Hartley
1 Timothy Payne
Replacements
16 Steven Thompson
17 Paul Doran-Jones
18 Courtney Lawes
19 Joseph Worsley
20 Daniel Care
21 Andrew Goode
22 Ayoola Erinle
Head Coach: Martin Johnson

Argentina
15 Horacio Agulla
14 Lucas Borges
13 Gonzalo Tiesi
12 Martin Rodriguez
11 Mauro Comuzzi
10 Santiago Fernandez
9 Alfredo Lalanne
8 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Capt.
7 Alfredo Abadie
6 Tomas Leonardi
5 Patricio Albacete
4 Esteban Lozada
3 Martin Scelzo
2 Mario Ledesma
1 Rodrigo Roncero
Replacements:
16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo
17 Marcos Ayerza
18 Manuel Carizza
19 Alejandro Campos
20 Agustin Figuerola
21 Benjamin Urdapilleta
22 Federico Martin Aramburu
Head Coach: Santiago Phelan