Eddie Jones’s men have two tough pool games remaining and know they need to improve to be regarded as true favourites
For England these are era-defining days. Four years of planning essentially rest on the next four weeks, unless the whole starship implodes inside the next fortnight. Can they boldly go where only the boys of 2003 have been before? The final frontier will be tantalisingly out of reach until at least 2023 unless Eddie Jones’ mission proves successful.
It is ever thus at World Cups, where what goes up can easily plummet back to earth inside 80 minutes. England, if they are anywhere near as good as they aspire to be, really should top Pool C and be confident of defeating Australia, their most likely quarter-final opponents at this stage, in Oita on 19 October. Fail to raise their level when it matters and the feelgood factor that has slowly been building in Japan will have been just another mirage.
Written by Robert Kitson in Tokyo
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/04/england-argentina-rugby-world-cup-prospects-in-balance under the title “England’s World Cup high-stakes games arrive with Argentina test | Robert Kitson”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
