The Pool of Death sees a match that provides a glaring example of why it has been given that ominous title

Aptly named the Pool of Death, Pool C sees three heavyweights who all have a chance of going through to the knockout stages. It could be easily argued that England are the best prepared of the three to make it out alive, but Argentina and France are more than capable of upsetting the established order. That being said though, tomorrow’s encounter is beyond critical for Argentina and France, as a loss for either team will then make their encounters with England a matter of life and death. Both these teams have flair and panache by the bucket load, but consistency is simply not a weapon in their armory. Argentina have not fared well internationally of late, and France fluctuate between hopeless and inspired in equal measure. The bottom line – on their day when either of these teams click they are a joy to watch and can potentially beat anyone.

Consequently, tomorrow’s match is one to savor and should be a contest with both sides throwing their proverbial kitchen sinks at each other. Both teams are intensely physical yet possess some of the silkiest backs in the modern game. It’s the World Cup’s first genuine clash of giants and one which we’ve been looking forward to since the Pools were announced.

France vs Argentina – Saturday, September 21st – Tokyo

Northern Hemisphere flair merchants meet their Southern Hemisphere counterparts

In terms of ability and play styles you couldn’t ask for two more evenly matched sides. Their starting XVs pack thirty players who almost complement each other in terms of ability. In short, there is very little in it. If we were to pick out any differences in quality between the two sides then it would be the benches, with France packing the more heavyweight bench in terms of proven ability. The key for Argentina will be being able to be in it toe to toe with France till at least the 70th minute without having to draw too heavily on their own bench.

One area where France will not need flair will be in the front row. Argentina despite in our opinion having a better second and back row, their scrum as a whole continues to creak, whereas France looks more than comfortable here. In the physical contests in the loose, Argentina’s brute force coupled with some genuine flair, spearheaded by Captain Pablo Matera is going to a problem for France all afternoon. France will need to rely on their ability to grind teams down at the breakdown, and force the Argentinians into costly handling errors due to their more expansive style of play up front.

In the backs though it is a fair contest but once again French Coach Jacques Brunel has demonstrated his propensity to tinker with players out of position, as Virimi Vakatawa finds himself moved from the wing to centre. Meanwhile warm up sensation winger Alivereti Raka doesn’t even get a look in on the bench. However with Gael Fickou and Damian Penaud thrown into the mix then flair is the key word, with Penaud being touted as one of the potential players of the tournament. However, Argentina simply ooze class and flair from 11-15 and we’d argue are the more dynamic and cohesive unit, which France could spend more time trying to contain than creating opportunities of their own. However, this part of the park should provide the kind of flat out entertainment that we are hoping these two sides will put on show tomorrow.

Will France regret the omission of Felix Lambey in their World Cup plans, especially against that Pumas second row

When Coach Jacques Brunel announced his World Cup squad, we like most were shocked at not seeing the outstanding second rower on the team sheet. Like most readers of this blog know, we don’t place a great deal of faith in Brunel as a Coach, and this decision simply reinforced that opinion. A bruising ball carrier and a solid bet in the lineouts, with an ability to create turnovers akin to South Africa’s Malcolm Marx on a good day, Lambey we felt was a shoe in. Given the lineout stealing abilities of Argentina’s Guido Petti and Tomas Lavanini, we would have thought that Lambey is the kind of player you would at least want on the bench. Not to be it would seem. Arthur Iturria and Sebastien Vahaamahina are outstanding players in their own right, with Vahaamahina likely to be effective at providing the kind of niggle Argentina’s Lavanini excels at. However, we prefer Iturria in the back row, and are still scratching our heads at the omission of one of France’s best emerging talents by a country mile. Lambey may still make it to Japan, if the injury gods are unkind to France, but we fear it is one selection decision that France will deeply regret in the weeks to come.

Experience vs youth in the halfbacks – which pair will seize the day?

Argentina field two accomplished veterans in the half back department – scrum half Tomas Cubelli and fly half Nicolas Sanchez. France meanwhile offer up two young bucks by comparison, but that is not said disparagingly as both fly half Romain Ntamack and scrum half Antoine Dupont have been two of the most successful aspects of French rugby this year. Dynamic is an understatement when talking of these two, especially Dupont. Argentina may have the wiser heads, but there is no denying that the French youngsters can turn a game upside down in the blink of an eye. France back them up with a pair of veterans on the bench in the shape of Camille Lopez and Maxime Machenaud, but there is no denying the all out ability of the two French youngsters being given the starting berths at 9 and 10. In terms of X-factor tomorrow our money is on France, and if the rest of the French team can keep up with this dynamic duo, it could be a long and challenging afternoon for Argentina.

Verdict

A game that is almost impossible to call much like the one following it in Pool B between South Africa and New Zealand. Of one thing we can be certain, entertainment is on the cards. However, our money is on the South Americans but not by much. Coach Brunel seems to be tinkering a bit too much for our liking whereas this Argentinian pack are exceptionally familiar with each other and have been playing together in their assigned positions for the better part of a year. Furthermore, the World Cup always seems to bring out the best in Argentina regardless of what they may have looked like heading into the tournament. You could argue the same for France, but Argentina still look the more settled and cohesive of the two. Consequently, our money is on the Pumas by four points provided they can keep the French bench at bay in the final ten minutes, in a match that should see the lead change hands on a regular basis!