England bid to tame Pumas in tough opener

DUNEDIN: England and Argentina are set for a bruising encounter in their Pool B World Cup opener here on Saturday.

Not for either side the luxury of a 'warm-up' match against underdogs Georgia or Romania.

Instead the group's seemingly two strongest sides -- although Scotland who've always reached the World Cup quarter-finals will have something to say about that -- meet first up.

This match could determine the pool winners who, should New Zealand top their pool, will then avoid the All Blacks until the final.

England manager Martin Johnson, bidding to become the first man to win the World Cup as both player and a coach, knows all about the endurance required to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy.

It was a quality England demonstrated in abundance four years ago in France when, without Johnson in a playing or coaching capacity, they started the 2007 World Cup with an unconvincing win against the United States and were then thrashed 36-0 by South Africa before recovering to finish runners-up after a 15-6 loss to the Springboks in the final.

Argentina, by contrast, were out of the blocks straight away stunning hosts France in their opener and defeating Les Bleus again to finish third.

"They do what they do very well but they've got more dimensions to them than is sometimes made out in the media," Johnson said of an Argentina team renowned for its strong scrum.

"They are a dangerous running side, they come at you through forwards but put you under pressure with their kicks as well.

England rely on a solid pack to secure enough possession that enables record points scorer Jonny Wilkinson, who has seen off the challenge of Toby Flood, to keep kicking scores.

However, they have struggled against well-organised defences thanks to a lack of a cutting edge in midfield.

But it appears the arrival of dynamic Samoa born centre Manu Tuilagi, who has scored a try in each of his two Tests, may have come just in time for England, who boast a trio of survivors from the team that started the 2003 final in Wilkinson, centre Mike Tindall and hooker Steve Thompson.

The Pumas have lost influential scrum-half Agustin Pichot, powerful forward Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, full-back Ignacio Corleto, No 8 Gonzalo Longo and fly-half Juan Martin Hernandez, recently ruled out with a knee injury, from their celebrated 2007 team.

But in veteran skipper Felipe Contepomi, who spent two seasons with Wilkinson at Toulon before his recent move to rival French club Stade Francais, Argentina too have an accomplished goalkicker.

Argentina have had just the one Test this year, a 28-13 defeat by Wales in Cardiff last month, but Contepomi said: "We had very good preparation these last two months. If we can be competitive on Saturday, that will be great."

But England, who've lost two of their last four Tests against Argentina, will expect much more of the Pumas. (AFP)