England will look to take a step closer to the 2023 Rugby World Cup knockout stages when they face off against Chile at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the second match on Saturday afternoon.
As we enter the halfway point of the group stages, Pool D is starting to take shape, and England currently lead the standings with nine points after their first two matches, while Chile are at the foot of the group, yet to get off the mark.
Match preview
There were major concerns about England coming into this World Cup as they failed to impress at this year's Six Nations competition, lost the Calcutta Cup and were defeated by Fiji during the warm-up games.
While some may argue that they have not done enough in their opening two games to suggest that they can challenge the likes of France or Ireland just yet, they have still got themselves into a very strong position to qualify from Pool D, which would have been their primary goal after the first two games.
England secured a 27-10 win in their opening match of the competition thanks to the boot of George Ford and followed up with a 34-12 victory over Japan last week, which also included a bonus point.
However, despite scoring four tries against the Brave Blossoms, Steve Borthwick's side were visibly more comfortable with pressurising their opponents in the opposing half rather than attempting to play out with ball in hand.
For now, and against the teams in this pool, it looks like the English kicking strategy could be effective, but they will need to work on a backup plan as they draw closer to the knockout stages.
Chile put up a valiant fight against Samoa during the first half of their second World Cup match, displaying impressive resilience and determination, but their performance waned during the second period as their opponents gained the upper hand.
The key difference was the physicality of Samoa, whose sheer strength and power caused Chile to lose ground, and they found themselves backed into their own half for large periods, resulting in a string of conceded penalties.
Looking ahead to their upcoming match, Chile faces a formidable challenge as England have also shown that their game plan is largely built around forcing their opponents to play from deep.
Therefore, in order for Chile to have a chance at success, their primary focus in attack should be on exploiting the breakdown, where England have often shown a tendency to be slow in getting players to secure possession of the ball in rucks and mauls.
If Pablo Lemoine's side can capitalise on this vulnerability and force England into committing penalties at the breakdown, they can gain valuable territory on the field, and it will be interesting to see how their opponents deal with that challenge, having dictated play in their last two games.
England Rugby World Cup form:
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- W
England form (all competitions):
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
Chile Rugby World Cup form:
- L
- L
Chile form (all competitions):
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
Team News
With two wins under his belt, Borthwick has taken this opportunity to shuffle his pack with 12 changes, and the headline inclusion is the return of skipper Owen Farrell, who replaces the impressive Ford at fly-half.
Bevan Rodd and Theo Dan come into the front row to join Kyle Sinckler, while David Ribbans and George Martin combine in a new lock combination behind them.
Danny Care will start alongside his skipper in the halves pairing, with Elliot Day moving from left wing to the centre, forming the midfield partnership with Ollie Lawrence.
Lemoine announced his matchday 23 in the week, and it features nine changes from the game against Samoa.
Matias Dittus, Clemente Saavedra, Rodrigo Fernandez, Matias Garafulic, Domingo Saavedra and captain Martin Sigren are the six players that have retained their spot in the starting lineup for Chile.
Francisco Urroz will make his Test debut at full-back, and Benjamin Videla will make his starting debut after playing 19 minutes off the bench against Samoa last week.
England starting lineup: 15. Marcus Smith; 14. Henry Arundell, 13. Elliot Daly, 12. Ollie Lawrence, 11. Max Malins, 10. Owen Farrell, 9. Danny Care, 8. Billy Vunipola, 7. Jack Willis, 6. Lewis Ludlam, 5. George Martin, 4. David Ribbans, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 2. Theo Dan, 1. Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16. Jack Walker, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Will Stuart, 19. Ollie Chessum, 20. Ben Earl, 21. Ben Youngs, 22. George Ford, 23. Joe Marchant
Chile starting lineup: 15. Francisco Urroz, 14. Cristobal Game, 13. Domingo Saavedra, 12. Matias Garafulic, 11. Franco Velarde, 10. Rodrigo Fernandez, 9. Benjamin Videlam 8. Alfonso Escobar, 7. Ignacio Silva, 6. MartÃn Sigren (c), 5. Javier Eissmann, 4. Clemente Saavedra, 3. Matias Dittus, 2. Augusto Bohme, 1. Salvador Lues
Replacements: 16. Tomas Dussaillant, 17. Vittorio Lastra, 18. Inaki Gurruchaga, 19. Pablo Huete, 20. Thomas Orchard, 21. Raimundo Martinez, 22. Lukas Carvallo, 23. Inaki Ayarza
Head To Head
This is the first time that these sides will face each other.
We say: England 58-10 Chile
Despite England not being the dominant force they were when they lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in 2003, they have got themselves in a very good position in what is widely acknowledged as the most favourable group in the tournament. They will be eyeing up a big win here and feel they will get the job done comfortably.
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