A combined Argentina and England XV ahead of their World Cup clash

Ahead of the Rugby World Cup Bronze Final between Argentina and England on Friday, we have taken a stab at picking a Combined XV based predominantly on form.

There’s eight English players and seven Los Pumas stars in this team as the Red Rose dominate the backline whilst Argentina make up most of the forward pack.

Combined Argentina v England XV

15 Marcus Smith (England): Was outstanding in the quarter-final against Fiji before unfortunately missing the semi-final with a concussion. His switch from fly-half to full-back has been seamless and credit to both the coaching team and player for taking the gamble as we pick him over Juan Cruz Mallia.

14 Emiliano Boffelli (Argentina): One of Argentina‘s best players this Rugby World Cup, the reliable goal-kicker and aerial master gets in over another high ball expert, Freddie Steward. Boffelli, as always, will be key to Los Pumas’ hopes of victory on Friday as a solid showing in all areas is vital.

13 Joe Marchant (England): Moved back from wing to the midfield last week and it is clear that is his best position. Marchant is a silky player whose stint in Super Rugby did him the world of good. Lucio Cinti misses out here as Marchant’s elegant running game hopefully comes to the fore one last time.

12 Manu Tuilagi (England): It’s long been a dream of English rugby fans that Tuilagi has an extended, injury-free run at Test level and under the radar that’s happened in recent months. Tuilagi is in fantastic physical shape and, like Marchant, will hope for more ball than he saw against the Springboks.

11 Mateo Carreras (Argentina): One of the tougher calls in the backline as Henry Arundell was excellent in his only opportunity this tournament, running in five tries against Chile. But we felt Carreras edges this due to his consistency in blue and white, with his showing against Japan a particular highlight.

10 Owen Farrell (England): Farrell has been outstanding for England in France in recent matches. Much was made after George Ford was axed despite his blistering start to the tournament, but Farrell has vindicated Steve Borthwick’s call, as his game management and steel sees him start over Santi Carreras.

9 Ben Youngs (England): In what will be his 127th and final England game, there’s an element of romance with this call as Youngs bows out after a fantastic career. To deal with what he has done off the field and make the selfless decisions he has in support of his brother, Tom, says a lot about the man.

8 Ben Earl (England): England’s best player at the 2023 Rugby World Cup? It is hard to argue otherwise as the statistics back it up. Earl shone throughout his side’s campaign, both with ball in hand and defensively and is preferred over the equally destructive Facundo Isa. It should be quite a battle at eight.

7 Marcos Kremer (Argentina): We’ve mentioned Boffelli as being one of Argentina’s best, the other simply has to be Kremer. An absolute rock of a specimen, he’s crashed through brick walls in possession and acted like one with his tackles, as seen below. An easy decision over Sam Underhill as our seven.

6 Tom Curry (England): A real shame a special rugby player might well be remember this World Cup for what’s going on off the field at the moment. Curry switches to the blindside on Friday and we’ll no doubt see another typically rugged performance as he’s picked over the talented Juan Martin Gonzalez.

5 Guido Petti (Argentina): A shirt shift at lock as we opt for the excellent Petti in our five jersey. Such a consistent performer for Los Pumas, his set-piece solidity and pace with ball in hand makes him a standout in the engine room. We go for the 28-year-old stalwart ahead of England’s Ollie Chessum.

4 Maro Itoje (England): Moving Petti allows us to put Itoje alongside in what is an exciting second-row combination. Itoje has recaptured his top form in recent weeks and, after admitting an underlying health condition hindered his form earlier this year, his return to peak performances makes even more sense.

3 Francisco Gómez Kodela (Argentina): Will Stuart’s lack of game time counts against him here as we opt for the Pumas tighthead. Their set-piece has improved during the tournament and while they’ve had their issues, it’s largely been on the loosehead side. He’ll hope to sign off well against Ellis Genge.

2 Julian Montoya (Argentina): A hooker who can do pretty much everything, Montoya once again skippers the troops with Agustin Creevy in reserve on what is his final Test run-out. Montoya will look to take Theo Dan to some dark places on Friday, thus limiting the impact the English hooker around the field.

1 Thomas Gallo (Argentina): As mentioned, he’s had his problems earlier in the World Cup at scrum time but elsewhere Gallo has been a workhorse, racking up an outstanding 19 tackles against New Zealand last time out. England’s Genge will no doubt be eager to finish with a flourish as two mobile props trot out.