England vs Argentina – Rugby World Cup LIVE: Alex Mitchell handed a surprise start for Steve Borthwick’s side following difficult tournament preparations

Follow Mail Sport’s live blog for all the latest as England face Argentina in their opening game of the Rugby World Cup, hoping to put their difficult preparations behind them.

Steve Borthwick looks on… and Argentina fans cause more mayhem!

Steve Borthwick has surveyed his surroundings and no doubt he’ll be well aware of what this means to the fans. Unfortunately we don’t have many pictures of England supporters around the ground, but people up and down the country will be hoping for a big result tonight against a historic enemy – across sports.

Sir Clive Woodward: Argentina are favourites

Mail Sport columnist and former World Cup winner Sir Clive Woodward has just told ITV Sport: ‘I think it’d be an upset if we win tonight.’

Argentina present a unique challenge as one of the most fiery teams in rugby and won at Twickenham last year 30-29. don’t take them lightly.

Maro Itoje's words of encouragement

Maro Itoje has issued some defiant words ahead of tonight’s clash.

Steve Borthwick has lost six of his first nine games in charge of England but Itoje, who starts in the second row tonight, insists that England know their quality.

‘We know who we are, we know the type of players we have, we know the quality of coaches we have,’ he said.

‘We haven’t played as well as we can, but we know the potential of this group, you know the attitude of the players and the coaches and it can only fill you with confidence.

‘We want to be part of something special and that starts this weekend.

‘We’ve seen how England get behind their national teams and we want to produce rugby that will get the country behind us.’

England warming up

Finally they’re on the turf. The World Cup opener for England is less than an hour away! Four years we’ve waited, and now you can almost taste it.

Argentina's line-up

Now for a look at Argentina’s starting XV for this clash.

Julian Montoya is the headline name and captain in the front row, also skippering Leicester Tigers. He’s powerful and has been named in the Gallagher Premiership team of the season twice in a row.

Marcos Kremer is back after a ban. He turns out for Clermont in the club season and has 57 Argentina caps to his name.

Inside England's SHAMBOLIC Rugby World Cup build-up

It’s no secret that England World Cup build-up has been rocked by a pile-on of issues. Once a slick operation, England go into this World Cup with pessimistic talk surrounding them.

There have been bans, injuries, a first-ever loss to Fiji, and so much more. For a team that reached the final under Eddie Jones in 2019, anything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong, writes Kieran Lynch.

Check out Mail Sport’s Rugby page elsewhere on our website to read his report.

A look in the changing rooms

This is what the centre of operations ahead of kick-off for each team tonight.

In the middle image, you can see the jerseys of Manu Tuilagi, who starts at inside centre; George Ford, who is at fly-half; and Alex Mitchell at No 6.

Argentine fever hits Marseille

England have a good record against Argentina, having won 19 of 25 encounters, but try telling these South American fans that the history books matter.

They’ve turned out in full force and Argentine regalia for this one. One thing is for sure: whatever happens on the field, there is going to be a firecracker of an atmosphere in the Stade Velodrome tonight.

England line-up talking points

Steve Borthwick has the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders and will know that his team selection will set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

Alex Mitchell is handed a surprise start at No 9 after a whirlwind few weeks. The Northampton Saints man wasn’t even included in Borthwick’s initial squad for the tournament, but the withdrawal of Jack Van Poortvliet led to his inclusion and now he starts ahead of Danny Care and Ben Youngs for his seventh cap.

Courtney Lawes captains the team from No 6 in the absence of Owen Farrell, having picked up his 100th cap against Fiji.

Jonny May is also on the wing – he also wasn’t included in the original 33-man squad.

England's line-up

Here is England’s line-up for their World Cup opener.

Welcome to Mail Sport's live blog of England vs Argentina

Good evening and welcome to Mail Sport’s live blog as England commence their Rugby World Cup campaign against Argentina.

The Stade Velodrome in Marseille, an absolute cauldron of a venue, will play host to tonight’s occasion as Steve Borthwick’s men look to put their recent woes behind them.

Kick-off is at 8pm and here at Mail Sport we’ll be bringing you all the build-up, live action, and reaction.

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