| Venue: Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille Date: Saturday, 23 September Kick-off: 16:45 BST |
| Protection: Take heed to BBC Radio 5 Stay commentary of the primary half and observe rating updates throughout the second half; take heed to uninterrupted radio commentary and observe stay textual content on the BBC Sport web site and app |
It takes an enormous man to take a seat Danny Grewcock on the seat of his shorts.
Pablo Lemoine was, and is, an enormous man.
Again in 2003, weighing simply shy of 20st, the Uruguayan prop took a go, revved the diesel engine, dipped his shoulder and ploughed by way of Grewcock and over the England line.
It was Uruguay’s solely attempt in a 111-13 pool-stage defeat by that Rugby World Cup’s eventual winners. It stays England’s largest win on the event.
Twenty years on, Lemoine is Chile’s head coach as they put together to play England in Lille on Saturday.
“You must take pleasure in it, as a result of it’s certainly an important recreation in Chile’s historical past,” Lemoine stated on Thursday.
It could be extra gratifying than that first assembly with England.
This England wouldn’t have the identical power in depth or certainty as 20 years in the past.
Again then Clive Woodward got here into the event with settled partnerships virtually carved into the teamsheet: Dawson-Wilkinson, Tindall-Greenwood, Johnson-Kay.
His group for the 2003 Uruguay recreation, which contained not one of the above, was robust, however undoubtedly second string.
Steve Borthwick would not have the identical luxurious. He’s nonetheless shuffling the pack and backs on the fly. His hope is that, with out the time to step by step form his group since taking the job in January, he’ll hit on a mix by sudden alchemy as a substitute.
Chile, the weakest group in Pool D, is an opportunity to check a spread of choices.
Owen Farrell is a kind of within the combine. The England captain has spent matchdays within the stands thus far on the Rugby World Cup, serving out the second half of a four-match ban.
Regardless of being picked at fly-half, Farrell’s likeliest route again into Borthwick’s first-choice XV nonetheless seems to be to persuade the coach that his game-reading capacity and bar-raising requirements trump the facility and tempo of Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant’s midfield partnership.
Borthwick would not sound like he’ll want a lot convincing. In Thursday’s press convention, the coach interjected after Farrell answered a simple query in regards to the view from the costly seats.
“If I’ll, can I leap in there?” Borthwick started.
“I’ve had the chance to work with Owen beforehand and have come again now a number of years later.
“The ability and affect he has over others is unimaginable.
“I see the best way he has harnessed the senior leaders inside this group, the best way he has helped the youthful gamers and so they look as much as him. He’s a mentor and an amazing voice for myself and the teaching group. I feel it’s an unimaginable ability.”
After South Africa’s positional wildcards thus far within the event – enjoying 4 scrum-halves towards Romania, carrying just one specialist hooker within the squad, choosing seven forwards on the bench towards Eire – Borthwick has performed a joker of his personal.
With 144 begins at fly-half for Harlequins and England, and nil in every other place, Marcus Smith has been deployed at 15.
The 24-year-old has added some razzle-dazzle in star turns off the bench, however shining amid damaged discipline and damaged our bodies is one factor, taking over the obligations from the beginning is one other.
Chile will want solely a cursory take a look at England to notice that Smith, at 5ft 9in, will not personal the air like 6ft 5in Freddie Steward.
England are playing that their opponents might be too preoccupied in defence to use that apparent vulnerability.
Ollie Lawrence and Elliot Daly in midfield and Henry Arundell and Max Malins on the wings is an attractive mixture of velocity and silken play-making abilities.
Billy Vunipola will attempt to dominate the gain-line and earn the prospect to take action towards superior opposition.
And, after the sweat and salt of the Cote d’Azur, Lille’s cooler, drier circumstances erase one excuse for England’s poor dealing with of their first two video games.
However these hoping for a scoreline to rival the 98-point successful margin from Lemoine’s enjoying days might be disillusioned.
Chile are a distinct group. And it is a completely different period.
As Uruguay and Portugal have proven, this event’s minnows are robust sufficient to carry again landslides.
Again in 2003, lower than a decade after professionalism, the hole between the very best, newly flush with information and time, in addition to money, and the remaining stretched to a chasm.
Whereas Lamoine was enjoying his membership rugby at Parisian powerhouse Stade Francais, most of his team-mates have been throw-back amateurs, turning out for various country-club groups from Montevideo’s posh suburbs.
His Chile group now are knowledgeable, unified outfit. Thirty of their 33-man squad play for a similar group – Selknam, the nation’s Santiago-based representatives in South America’s continental membership competitors.
Individually most of Chile’s gamers might not have the standard to earn contracts in Europe, however they flip that right into a collective power, exploiting the togetherness and cohesion extra affluent nations lack.
“An important factor we now have is that we struggle for each ball, our sacrifice, our solidarity with one another, be collectively as one,” stated assistant coach Ricardo Cortes earlier than the event.
“That’s all crucial with a purpose to put collectively an amazing group. Video games will not be gained by people, however by groups.”
Chile haven’t gained a recreation but. They will not win this one. However, the respect they’ve earned in battling defeats by Argentina and Japan would not present on the scoreboard.
Factors will not be the prize for England both. Locations, for the more durable Exams to come back, are.
