England vs Argentina Betting Tips: Best Bets and Predictions for Red Rose World Cup Opener

In the game that should decide the winner of Pool D at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, two coaches contrasting in reputation with their respective fanbases collide. Steve Borthwick has failed to win over the Red Rose faithful since taking over from Eddie Jones as England boss and if anything, the side have gotten worse. Michael Cheika on the other hand is at the helm of the strongest ever Argentinian World Cup squad and is riding the crest of a wave after a spate of great results for the Pumas.

Billy Grimshaw is ditching patriotism here for his best bets and is backing the underestimated Argentinians to announce themselves in spectacular fashion on the biggest stage of them all…

Cards on the table time here; I am dead set against England in this World Cup. Since the later days of Eddie Jones’ reign as boss, the Red Rose have looked flat and unorganised and in contrast to what the RFU would have hoped, changing the coaching staff seems to have only made matters worse.

Steve Borthwick was brought in after a stellar stint in charge of Leicester Tigers but despite his upbeat persona and insistence he has belief in his troops, this looks one of the poorest set of players England have taken to a Rugby World Cup. Adding to the woes for England fans making the trip across the Channel is the bizarre lack of any sort of identity in the team. Spirits must be low and although this World Cup offers a fresh start, I sense a soft underbelly in England and think the Pumas will be licking their lips at the prospect of exposing their old enemy.

Argentina on the other hand arrive at the World Cup in the best shape the national side has ever been in, with a host of tight defeats to South Africa and New Zealand over the last 12-18 months coupled with high profile scalps of Australia on multiple occasions and even England at Twickenham the last time these sides met. The bookies find it impossible to split these two but I think they are wrong and have priced the match on reputation rather than form, personnel and ability. Argentina should be clear favourites and don't be surprised if they emerge as the dark horses for the whole tournament from this supposed 'easier' side of the draw.

The reasons for Argentina being value to win here are plentiful but where I'm going to start is picking apart why England are under-priced. Firstly, they are missing talismanic captain Owen Farrell through suspension and although George Ford is a decent enough understudy, any team would miss their captain and particularly one in such a pivotable position as fly half like Farrell is. England have not been particularly good with Farrell in the side but without him there is potential for the Red Rose to look even more rudderless.

Next up there are the underperforming stars such as Mauro Itoje and Courtney Lawes in the pack. Neither player is playing appallingly, but the strike both used to offer in their pomp has simply vanished and without it England could struggle for any meaningful yardage and gaps. Tom Curry is world class on his day but has been plagued by injuries recently so may struggle to get up to speed here, while Ben Earl completes a backrow that if all firing would strike fear into any national side, particularly when carrying the ball into the England defence. The trouble is, none of them are particularly firing right now.

Manu Tuilagi is a certified veteran now and although still a handful on his day, his powers have been waning for some time and he is far from the ball carrying dynamo he once was at centre. Ellis Genge is definitely a plus at loosehead for England, but the trouble is I think he is bested by his opposite number the ball carrying machine Thomas Gallo for the Pumas. This segue leads me into addressing the fact that the English media are having a hard time accepting; Argentina have better players across the field. At number 6 Pablo Matera is a monster who can run and tackle all day and is better than anything England can throw back at him, while Lucio Cinti in the centres comes into this tournament flying high and is arguably one of the best centres in World Rugby right now.

I think Argentina have England's measure in all aspects that matter. Their defence should be strong enough to nullify England's ropey attack, they have enough brutes to win the battle for territory and out wide they have enough guile to create try-scoring opportunities. Captain and hooker Julian Montoya will have his team fired up for this one and they look a brilliant bet to start their World Cup campaign off strong.

Obviously this second tip is related heavily to the first main bet of Argentina to win, but I do think there is value in most bets which are siding with the Pumas for victory. Their front row and indeed the whole forward pack is a mean tackling machine and with England's struggles with ball in hand recently and Borthwick's insistence on kicking the ball at every possible opportunity, there must be potential here for a bit of a shutout on the Red Rose in terms of tries.

Argentina are by no means a swash buckling attacking team like the Fijian flyers that beat England at Twickenham a few weeks ago, but they do have the defensive intensity to keep their opposition out in my opinion. As I began the piece saying I am against England in this World Cup it is only right I divulge that I have backed Argentina each-way for World Cup glory here in 2023. Obviously with an each-way bet like this you get paid out handsomely if your team makes the final and I think from this side of the draw the Argentinians have a fantastic chance.

Defence will be the bedrock they build their World Cup campaign on and game one against a clunky and low on confidence England is the perfect opportunity to make a statement with a victory. One interesting nugget of statistical gold I managed to dig up upon researching this game was that the two sides have contrasting fortunes in the first half and second half over the last 18 months. Argentina are notoriously slow starters and fast finishers while England start well before tapering off. With this in mind the second bet in the game comes in the shape of backing England HT Argentina FT, available at a whopping 8/1 with Betfred.