Eddie Jones warns England to beware wounded Argentina as they look to restore pride at Twickenham
After dropping out of the top eight, Daniel Hourcade’s side are heading for a place in a World Cup pool of death in 2019
ENGLAND are fearing a ferocious onslaught as Argentina come to Twickenham fighting for their World Cup future.
The wounded Pumas have slipped to seven defeats in their last nine games — with their world ranking tumbling to ninth.
After dropping out of the top eight, Daniel Hourcade’s side are heading for a place in a World Cup pool of death in 2019 with the draw in Japan next May.
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Ahead of the do-or-die game, England boss Eddie Jones said: “It’s a massive source of motivation for them.
“If you get into a pool with tier one countries, then one team is going to miss out on the next stage. What we know is that when they come to Twickenham, they will not be lacking in motivation.
“They have had a very strenuous season but will come full of beans and ready to play. They’re a proud team and they are coming to Twickenham, which is the home of rugby. It’s a big stage and they will want to put their best foot forward.”
Jones’ rampant Red Rose men have no such concerns after moving to second in the world behind New Zealand.
England have notched 13 wins on the bounce and 12 under the Australian boss.
Victory this week and another against Australia in seven days’ time will see them equal their own run of 14.
But Jones said: “The only talk of records is in the media.
“There’s no talk about it in this team because we’re not interested in records, we’re interested in getting better.
“Every time we train and get together is an opportunity to get better.
“Our aim is to be the No 1 team in the world and you do that by getting better. Records are great for you guys but we don’t get involved in that chat.”
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Scrum coach Neal Hatley said: “No matter who you’re playing, any team that comes to Twickenham really want to have a pop. Argentina at Twickenham — they’ll be right up for it. I’m sure the long haul flights have had an effect but they’ve been in Europe for a while now, so they will have got used to normal sleeping patterns.
“For them it’s a case of one last hurrah before a bit of down time, so fatigue won’t be a massive issue for them.”
ENGLAND: Brown; May, Joseph, O Farrell, Daly; Ford, Youngs; M Vunipola, Hartley (capt), Cole, Lawes, Kruis, Robshaw, Wood, B Vunipola. REPLACEMENTS: George, Marler, Sinckler, Ewels, Harrison, Care, Te’o, Slade.