Argentina warned to be wary of passionate England

England completed their final preparations with an intense training session and then a light run at the Otago Stadium – and there was no mistaking the change of mood in the squad as kick-off neared.

Haskell is one of the jokers in the camp but he was deadly serious yesterday, vowing that England will meet Argentina’s passion and fight fire with fire.

“The guys are ready to play,” said Haskell.

“We’ve had eight or nine weeks together, guys have been left by the wayside, there’s been competition, there’s been physicality, there’s been ups and downs and it’s just about getting that on the field and letting all that emotion come out.

“You can feel guys are desperate. With a World Cup like this there’s a little bit of fear, there’s a lot of expectation.

“And when people come to New Zealand where the whole place is rugby mad you want to make sure you perform.

“We all know it’s very important to get a good result on the board to start with. We are in at the deep end against Argentina, our group is very tough.

“The talking stops. It’s a World Cup. It’s do or die.”

The focus of every England-Argentina clash is on the scrum, with the Pumas boasting one of the most revered packs in the global game.

England learned the consequences of losing the physical battle in their defeats last season to South Africa and Ireland and are steeling themselves for a brutal encounter.

“I’ve played with a number of their forwards at Stade Francais, Rodrigo Roncero, Juan Leguizamon,” Haskell continued.

“If you come to a World Cup and you are not ready for the physical challenge, there’s no point being here. We know what Argentina are about, they are very passionate – but so are we.

“Sometimes they are more expressive, whereas the Anglo-Saxon mentality is a bit more closed, not so outwardly passionate.

“But we pride ourselves on our passion as an English team.

“If you look at the team around us, every time I come out I feel privileged to be with the guys in an England shirt because there’s so much talent.”

Haskell will start opposite Leguizamon at openside flanker with Nick Easter back at No 8, having missed England’s final World Cup warm-up win against Ireland with a calf injury.

England’s only other change is on the wing, where Delon Armitage starts ahead of Mark Cueto while scrum-half Ben Youngs will return to action from the bench after recovering from a knee injury.

Otley-born Mike Tindall, a veteran of England’s 2003 World Cup triumph, leads the team in the continued absence of Lewis Moody.

“We just want to get going now,” said manager Martin Johnson.

“There are enough re-runs on the TV, what-ifs and speculation. Let’s get the games going now.

“Last night we went down to Carisbrook in the pouring rain and it was one of the most error-free sessions I have seen in a long time, in terrible conditions.

“That was a sign of the focus and mentality they have – and they need to carry that through to the game,” he said.

n New Zealand captain Richie McCaw says he is excited to have the World Cup under way after his side’s 41-10 win yesterday over Tonga in the tournament opener at Eden Park.

The All Blacks ran in six tries against the South Sea Islanders with Israel Dagg (2), Richard Kahui (2), Jerome Kaino and Ma’a Nonu all crossing and Dan Carter kicking three conversions and a penalty.

Kahui, Sonny Bill Williams and Kaino were outstanding on the night but New Zealand’s second-half performance did not match the incisiveness of the first 40 minutes.

Some disjointed attacking play and an under-pressure scrum contributed to the All Blacks only winning the second 40 minutes 12-7.

But McCaw said: “It was a start, we had good patches, but in the second half we spent some time in their 22 but didn’t capitalise, which is something to work on.

“Our defence was good, although it was disappointing to let them score, but we had to defend for a while. But it’s a start and that’s all we can look at it as.”

n Wales coach Warren Gatland has tipped history-maker Sam Warburton to leave a lasting impression on the event.

Warburton will become the youngest World Cup captain, aged 22 years and 341 days, when he leads Wales into battle against Pool D favourites South Africa tomorrow.

It gives the Cardiff Blues flanker an immediate opportunity to test himself against one of the world’s best opensides in South African Heinrich Brussow.

And Gatland believes his skipper will win an army of new admirers when they witness the form that has impressed European audiences over the past 12 months.

“There are three definite what I consider world-class (openside) players at the moment in terms of (David) Pocock, (Richie) McCaw and Brussow,” said Gatland.

“And I would rate Sam in that category as well.

“A lot of people haven’t seen a lot of Sam Warburton, but I think he will create an impact after people have seen him in a few games in this World Cup.”

Scotland start their campaign tomorrow against Romania in Invercargill, while Ireland face up to Eddie O’Sullivan’s USA at Stadium Taranaki early tomorrow morning.