Our experts pick their England XVs to face Argentina in Rugby World Cup opener

England’s opening match of the World Cup against Argentina is likely to be their toughest test of the pool stages.

Steve Borthwick will be without Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola, who are both banned, while a number of other players are recovering from injury and in a race against time to be fit.

Telegraph Sport’s rugby experts pick the England team they would like to see take the pitch on Saturday night.

Gavin Mairs

This is a pack picked to meet head on the set-piece challenge of Los Pumas. With no Vunipola and Jack Willis disappointing against Fiji and Tom Curry unable to play during the August Tests, Lewis Ludlam starts in the back row. If Curry is fit then the best place for his return is on the bench.

Borthwick must be tempted to start Marcus Smith at full-back, but given Argentina’s kicking game, aerial dominance, at least in the first 60 minutes will be key. Joe Marchant, England’s form player of the summer, edges out Ollie Lawrence.

Daniel Schofield

This is a slightly back to front team where I have chosen a bench for maximum impact and a starting XV based around the scrum dominance and line-out superiority. Is this an incredibly limited game plan? Absolutely. Is it England’s best chance of trying to eke out a victory? Probably.

Some big assumptions are also being made on various players’ fitness here and I am picking Elliot Daly and Henry Arundell more in hope than expectation that they are going to be a) fit and b) passed the ball. There is a good argument for starting Smith at full-back but I think he is more likely to win the game as a replacement than as a starter.

Charlie Morgan

I quite like Marchant on the wing, and his versatility mitigates the risk of a six-two bench split given we know that Smith is covering full-back. This supposes a clean bill of health, with Curry held back among the replacements. Willis was underwhelming against Fiji, but is classy enough to rise to this occasion.

Ben Coles

This hinges on a few factors, like the extent of Daly’s injury and Curry’s recovery. The suggestion has been that Curry will be in contention.

How absurd that England are going into a Rugby World Cup with little to no idea about who their best tighthead or scrum-half is. Ben Youngs’ struggles in Dublin and Alex Mitchell’s zippy delivery could determine who wins that battle. Dan Cole is the best scrummager. One bright spot lost in the damage of the loss to Fiji was that Manu Tuilagi played quite well. Marchant has to start. There’s too much talent there to be this poor.

Charles Richardson

Given August’s proceedings, and just how big a game this is in terms of England’s World Cup campaign – and, perhaps, Borthwick’s tenure as head coach – reputation must be dispensed with in favour of form. Tuilagi, Maro Itoje and Jamie George, an underperforming trio in the warm-ups, form part of an experienced bench to close out the final quarter.

Courtney Lawes moves into the second row alongside the hard-hitting George Martin to free up a slot on an all-action back row. Curry returns immediately given his physical achievements in training, of which Borthwick has been waxing lyrical. Ben Earl continues at No 8 as there is literally no one else and, due to the recent injury to Kyle Sinckler, Cole starts at tighthead to achieve set-piece stability. Theo Dan has looked spritely and dynamic and deserves a shot, just as with Mitchell.

In behind, Daly is expected to be fit and forms a well balanced back three with Arundell and Freddie Steward. Lawrence and Marchant are England’s form centres – and offer the most threat – with Marchant also covering wing if required. Smith, among the replacements, covers both fly-half and full-back, his newfound role. That side, on paper, is good enough to win Pool D.

Fiona Tomas

This is based on the assumption that Daly and Arundell are not over their injury niggles. Trying new combinations on the eve of a World Cup is the stuff of nightmares but Smith looked bright when he came on against Fiji. Parachuting him in at full-back is hardly ideal against an Argentina side whose rugby stock has soared over the past year but by working in tandem with George Ford, England can at least try to counter Argentina’s sharp kicking game and engage in the territory battle. There is enough experience to match Los Pumas’ predatory pack, with big-game players who must stand tall but tackle…low.