England springs Rugby World Cup selection surprises with Mitchell and May; Ford starts at 10
LE TOUQUET, France (AP) — Coach Steve Borthwick selected two players to start England’s Rugby World Cup against Argentina that didn’t even make his original squad as he searched for a change in fortunes for the former champion and 2019 finalist currently stuck in one of its worst ruts.
The selection surprises on Thursday saw scrumhalf Alex Mitchell go straight into the team ahead of veterans Ben Youngs and Danny Care after Mitchell was a late callup following an injury to Jack van Poortvliet. Wing Jonny May was also given a starting place against Argentina in Marseille on Saturday having been included for the World Cup only when Anthony Watson was ruled out.
England will be captained by flanker Courtney Lawes with regular skipper Owen Farrell suspended for a high tackle and a red card in a warmup against Wales. England is also without No. 8 Billy Vunipola — also because of a red card — and Ben Earl steps in at the back of the scrum.
Farrell will miss the first two pool games against Argentina and Japan.
Flanker Tom Curry returned to the starting lineup for his first game since May because of an ankle injury in the one glimpse of good news for England. Curry was at the heart of the team that made it to the final four years ago, only to lose to South Africa.
Without Farrell, Borthwick picked George Ford at No. 10 and kept Marcus Smith on the bench. Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant were together in the centers and the 36-year-old Dan Cole was given a start at tighhead prop in a front row that includes Ellis Genge and Jamie George.
England has had a difficult buildup to the Rugby World Cup with its struggle for form and then the suspensions to key players Farrell and Vunipola.
The 2003 champion lost to underdog Fiji for the first time ever to head into this World Cup with three losses in its last four games. England has lost six out of nine in 2023, leaving Argentina in the unfamiliar position of being the favorite for many to win the Pool D opener in the south of France.
Argentina coach Michael Cheika picked nine players with World Cup experience in his starting 15, which is captained by hooker Julian Montoya and has Matias Alemanno and Tomas Lavanini in the second row, Pablo Matera at flanker, Gonzalo Bertranou at scrumhalf, and deadly goalkicker Emiliano Boffelli on the wing to be near full strength.
Boffelli collected 25 points when Argentina pipped England 30-29 in their last meeting in November.
Former captain Agustin Creevy is on the bench for Marseille and ready to start his fourth World Cup and extend his Argentina appearance record to 102 tests.
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Lineups:
England: Freddie Steward, Jonny May, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi, Elliot Daly, George Ford, Alex Mitchell; Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Courtney Lawes (captain), Ollie Chessum, Maro Itoje, Dan Cole, Jamie George, Ellis Genge. Reserves: Theo Dan, Joe Marler, Will Stuart, George Martin, Lewis Ludlam, Danny Care, Marcus Smith, Ollie Lawrence.
Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia, Emiliano Boffelli, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Carreras, Gonzalo Bertranou; Juan Martin Gonzalez, Marcos Kremer, Pablo Matera, Tomas Lavanini, Matias Alemanno, Francisco Gómez Kodela, Julian Montoya (captain), Thomas Gallo. Reserves: Agustín Creevy, Joel Sclavi, Eduardo Bello, Guido Petti Pagadizabal, Pedro Rubiolo, Rodrigo Bruni, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Matías Moroni.
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AP Rugby World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby