3. Argentina are the Dark Horses and Can Beat England
There is no denying the upward trajectory that Argentina find themselves on. After recording historic victories over the All Blacks in the 2022 Rugby Championship, Los Pumas Head Coach Michael Cheika became just the second coach (after Eddie Jones) to beat New Zealand, as the Head Coach of two nations.
Cheika toppled the All Blacks when at the helm of the Wallabies, and struck lightning twice, now in charge of Argentina. The former dual code rugby footballer, Cheika has instilled a resounding fight into Argentina, who now are undoubted contenders in the SANZAAR brand, and do more than just make up the numbers against the All Blacks, Australia, and South Africa.
Argentina will be chomping at the bit to start off their Rugby World Cup campaign, as they face a weakened England side on Saturday 9th of September in Marseille. Following two high tackle offences throughout the Summer Nations Series, which saw the bunker review system at full force, England will be without their captain Owen Farrell, and sole specialist number eight Billy Vunipola for the opening clash with Los Pumas.
Argentina will view this as the ultimate opportunity to stun Steve Borthwick’s men, and follow up on the 30-29 upset victory they recorded at Twickenham Stadium last November. Argentina are a team in fine form, with numerous Premiership Rugby talents decorating the roster list. Los Pumas recorded a thrilling 34-31 victory over Eddie Jones’ frustrated Wallabies in their latest Rugby Championship campaign, and even took the match against full-strength Springboks to the wire, as they lost by just a single point in Johannesburg (22-21).
It would take a cataclysmic error of direction to stop Argentina from progressing out of Pool D. From there, Los Pumas will take on either the winner or runner-up of Pool C, with the aforementioned quartet of Australia, Fiji, Georgia and Wales pushing for those places. Argentina could then push on to the semi-finals, for either a run-in with one of those four sides, or possibly even England or Japan. Beatable competition stands in between Los Pumas and the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final, in what would be Argentina’s maiden voyage to international rugby’s grandest stage.
We believe that the overall winner of the Rugby World Cup will come from either Pool A or Pool B, (more on that later), yet there is no understating how important to Argentine Rugby a very possible extended run in the competition would be. Argentina’s best effort at the Rugby World Cup came in 2007, as they took Bronze medals away from the third place final against France. This year could well see Los Pumas go one further, with a shot at the Web Ellis Trophy more than in their reach.