Rugby: All Blacks in Paris as England face Argentina test

STOCK up on beer, switch off your phone and settle down for a day of non-stop rugby as the November Test series begins in earnest on Saturday.

England’s dour defeat of Australia last weekend was the hors d’oeuvre for the feast that awaits rugby fans tomorrow.

All four home nations will be action, so too Italy, who will be looking to upset the Wallabies in Torino, while there is also the first sighting this year in Europe of the All Blacks.

Unbeaten so far this season, the world champions are in Paris on Saturday night, looking to make it 11 wins from 11 in 2013. They should do it, too, against a French side that has been below par for most of the year. Les Bleus have won just one of their eight internationals this calendar year and the team selected by coach Philippe Saint-Andre has a worn, jaded feel to it.

Not so England, who have once again rung the changes as coach Stuart Lancaster continues to build towards the World Cup. Last Saturday’s 20-13 defeat of Australia was scruffy and shapeless, but it was a win all the same against one of the southern hemisphere’s ‘Big Three’. “We were pleased to get the victory but we know there’s more to come from this team and we are looking forward to building on that momentum for this weekend,” declared Lancaster as he unveiled his starting XV for the visit of Argentina to Twickenham.

There are four changes in all with winger Marland Yande out after failing to recover from a hip injury. He is replaced by Ben Foden, while there’s an all-new front row in hooker Dylan Hartley and props David Wilson and Joe Marler. The latter replaces loosehead Mako Vunipola, and Hartley and Wilson step up in place of Tom Youngs and Dan Cole for what will be a stern examination by the tough Argentine scrum.

The Pumas have only ever won once at Twickenham, a 25-18 victory in 2006, and their chances of adding a second upset have diminished with the loss of inspirational captain and loose forward Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe. Out with a fractured elbow, Lobbe is replaced as skipper by Juan Manuel Leguizamon in a side that shows five changes from the team crushed 54-17 by Australia in their most recent fixture.

England should be too powerful for Argentina, as Scotland will be against Japan at Murrayfield despite the fact the Japanese beat a second string Wales in the summer. “Japan are well-coached, have a great work ethic and really good knowledge of rugby now,” says Scotland coach Scott Johnson, who is warning his side against complacency . “We have a 22-month campaign pre-World Cup and one of the mantras is ‘this could be your last Test match’. It’s not a right to play for your country. You have to go out there and perform.”

The same message will have been drilled into Ireland by coach Joe Schmidt as they prepare to confront the Samoans in Dublin. In recent seasons Samoa have beaten Australia, Wales and Scotland to prove that they now rank among the top tiers of Test nations, and Schmidt has gone for the experience of Briain O’Driscoll in naming his side.

The Irish centre will win his 134th cap tomorrow, bringing him one nearer to former Australian scrum-half George Gregan’s record of 139 international appearances.

Wales have the toughest task of the home nations, a clash with South Africa in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. Though Warren Gatland’s side are the reigning Six Nations champions, they have won only once against the Springboks in 26 attempts stretching back to 1906. Gatland has selected Mike Phillips at scrum-half, despite his well-publicised personal problems of late, and Lions captain Sam Warburton is part of the best back-row in Europe alongside fellow Lions Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau.

“We always say we like to test ourselves against the best and Saturday is going to be just that with a huge game against South Africa,” said Gatland. “We go into the series as Six Nations champions but we are looking forward to testing ourselves against the southern hemisphere.”

Italy v Australia, 2pm, Sky Sports Xtra

England v Argentina, 2.30pm, Sky Sports 2

Scotland v Japan, 2.30pm, BBC Scotland

Wales v South Africa, 5.30pm, BBC2

Ireland v Samoa, 5.45pm

France v New Zealand 8pm, Sky Sports 2 · 

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/rugby-baxter-pays-tribute-hayes-044504409--spt.html

Rugby: All Blacks in Paris as England face Argentina test