ngland look to put a disastrous run of form behind then and click into gear on the biggest stage as they prepare to get their Rugby World Cup campaign up and running.
Steve Borthwick’s side lost three of their four warm-up matches, including a defeat to Fiji in their most recent game at Twickenham, and go into the tournament in France ranked eighth in the world.
The serious business gets underway for England on Saturday, when they take on Argentina at the Stade Velodrome in a Pool D opener that will have a huge bearing on the mood heading into the next three matches.
England then take on Japan, before a clash against Chile that they will be expected to win with minimal fuss. The focus will then shift to the final pool match against Samoa, which could well decide who goes through to the quarter-finals.
On paper at least, England are on the right side of the draw. They cannot face the likes of New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa and France until the semi-finals, but any thought of a run deep into the knockout stages looks a long way off as it stands.
England fixtures in full
Saturday, September 9
England vs Argentina (Stade Velodrome, 8pm, ITV1)
Sunday, September 17
England vs Japan (Stade de Nice, 8pm, ITV1)
Saturday, September 23
England vs Chile (Stade Pierre-Mauroy, 4:45pm, ITV1)
Saturday, October 7
England vs Samoa (Stade Pierre-Mauroy, 4:45pm, ITV1)
