England vs. Argentina – 11/11/2006

Match Preview

And then there were six. It could not possibly be made seven defeats in a row this Saturday when England take on Argentina at Twickenham but if it is, it will equal England's worst run since 1972. Statistically it will equal it, but the reality will be many times worse – if there had been a World Champion in 1972, England would not have been it!

But it's not all doom and gloom. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, depending on whom you ask, there is light spraying itself every which way, shrouded only briefly by the All Blacks, as is the wont of a team sporting such colours. For a team finally showing signs of re-inventing itself, the visit of New Zealand was hardly the ideal baptism and even a record home defeat has failed to quell enthusiasm around the England camp.

Andy Robinson has made only one change ahead of the clash with the Pumas, with Perry Freshwater coming in to prop up the tight-head side of the scrum in place of Andrew Sheridan, sent back to Sale – probably for just the one week – leaving room on a much altered bench for clubmate Stuart Turner. Josh Lewsey returns from injury to take his seat alongside Turner, with Tom Palmer and Toby Flood also coming in while Mark van Gisbergen, Chris Jones and Andy Goode miss out.

New Zealand and Argentina in the space of six days is about as tough a challenge as International rugby can present to a front-row, and Freshwater will be looking to impose upon his opposition in conjunction with George Chuter and Julian White. Omar Hasan and Marcos Ayerza represent Argentina 's best chance of recording an away win and Robinson will be delighted should his charges achieve parity at scrum time.

Elsewhere in the Argentine line-up, a strong Guinness Premiership connection in the form of Gonzalo Tiesi, Juan and Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe and the superb Juan-Manuel Leguizamon provide the visitors with exceptional ball-carrying potential. Marshalled by Premiership old-boys Felipe Contepomi and Agustin Pichot, the Argentina side of 2006 is starting to threaten as much on paper as it always did through its unquestionable power and Latin mystique.

England needs to win this game, but the emphasis has to be on performance. Thanks to the RFU's ridiculous money-grabbing schedule, Robinson will have to jiggle his selections over the next two weeks, and personnel issues will remain unresolved until the VI Nations at the earliest. Consequently, the England coaching team will be hoping that they can build on last Sunday's positives. Foremost amongst them, the ability and the willingness to move the ball away from the ruck as quickly as possible, aided hugely by the debut of Shaun Perry at scrum half. A structural element was added to England 's game plan that has been absent for as long as anyone would care to remember, and if it continues to develop then things are certainly pointing in the right direction.

While the influence of Brian Ashton – and even Rob Andrew – starting to poke its head through, there are still question marks circling ominously around Robinson and his selections. Paul Sackey, Anthony Allen and Perry have all been retained on the back of promising debuts, but with Lewsey, Mark Cueto and Tom Rees all returning to fitness one wonders what has to happen to expunge the deadwood that remains in the side. Much has been made of Iain Balshaw's pristine white shirt at the end of the New Zealand game, and one has to wonder what the Gloucester man has to do to be dropped.

Greater concern has to be reserved for the pack. The age of England 's forwards is staggering: the average age sits at over 31! Should this pack survive through to the World Cup that average will become 32, almost 4 years older than the 2003 pack, criticised Worldwide for being too decrepit to even take the field. With age comes a lack of pace, a problem that has held England back in the past, and a problem with no shortage of solutions. When one accepts that the principal role of the front five is to win set-piece possession, the responsibility lies with the back row. James Forrester's injury was ill-timed for England but Rees, Magnus Lund and new addition to the squad Dan Ward-Smith could not be in better form. Each of them must surely be granted some decent game time before November is over, but why not now? Ritchie McCaw took Martin Corry, Lewis Moody and Pat Sanderson to school all by himself last weekend and yet all of his victims have been retained.

For that trio, this must surely be the last chance. Other combinations in the England side are just starting out, which is why the nation cheers as one at the retention of Allen in the centres. But with Mathew Tait ready to resume full duty any week now in the centres, and a substantial queue forming behind Charlie Hodgson, who is also teetering perilously close to the trap door after Sunday, nothing is guaranteed.

England will be looking to develop their style of play this weekend with a positive performance, and hopefully provide a platform for the South Africa Tests, where Robinson should be looking to discover whether or not more of his squad can cut it at the top level. But in the meantime, seven defeats on the bounce should be just the scare story needed for England to record a win against an accomplished opponent.

England team: Balshaw (Gloucester); Sackey (Wasps), Noon (Newcastle), Allen (Gloucester), Cohen (Northampton); Hodgson (Sale Sharks), Perry (Bristol); Freshwater (Perpignan), Chuter (Leicester), White (Leicester), Grewcock (Bath), Kay (Leicester), Corry (Leicester, capt), Moody (Leicester), Sanderson (Worcester).
Replacements: Mears ( Bath ), Turner ( Sale ), Palmer (Wasps), Lund ( Sale ), Richards ( Gloucester ), Flood ( Newcastle ), Lewsey (Wasps).

Argentina: Juan Martin Hernandez (Stade Francais/FRA); Jose Nunez Piossek (Bayonne/FRA), Miguel Avramovic (Worcester/ENG), Gonzalo Tiesi (London Irish/ENG), Pablo Gomez Cora (Lomas Athletic); Felipe Contepomi (Leinster/IRL), Agustin Pichot (Stade Francais/FRA, capt); Gonzalo Longo (Montferrand/FRA), Juan Manuel Leguizamon (London Irish/ENG), Juan Fernandez Lobbe (Sale/ENG); Patricio Albacete (Pau/FRA), Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe (Sale/ENG); Omar Hasan (Toulouse/FRA), Mario Ledesma (Montferrand/FRA), Marcos Ayerza (Leicester/ENG)
Replacements: Albert Vernet Basualdo (Associacion Alumni), Martin Scelzo (Montferrand/FRA), Esteban Lozada (CASI), Martin Schusterman (Leeds/ENG, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda (Hindu), Federico Todeschini (Montpellier/FRA), Horacio Agulla (Hindu)

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