The Latest Breaking News from Steve Borthwick

Ireland, France, South Africa and New Zealand shape as the tournament favourites – but how far down our rankings are England and Wales after a difficult 2023 so far?

The scrum half and Jonny May are surprise inclusions in England’s first starting team of the World Cup having been left out of Steve Borthwick’s initial 33-man squad

Tom Curry is also fit to start against Argentina in the crucial Pool D clash in Marseille, while veteran prop Dan Cole gets the nod in a team captained by Courtney Lawes

Alex Mitchell starts at nine, while Jonny May is also an unexpected starter on the wing

Mitchell was omitted from the original 33-man squad named by Steve Borthwick only to be given a reprieve when Jack van Poortvliet suffered an injury.

The vastly-experienced lock will captain Steve Borthwick’s side against the Pumas after 100th cap ruined by historic Fiji loss

We were promised “ad nauseam” that England under new coach Steve Borthwick would peak at the right time, said Oliver Brown in The Daily Telegraph. “All the low-water marks” of recent times – November’s capitulation to South Africa; March’s record loss to France – were “passed off with the blithe…

Cole will appear in his fourth tournament when he lines up against Argentina in Marseille on Saturday.

The veteran tighthead prop says getting the balance right on and off the pitch is important before Saturday’s opener with Argentina