England v Chile preview: Red Rose to capitalise on weakness as Owen Farrell returns

Adam Kyriacou
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England fly-half Owen Farrell and Chile fly-half Rodrigo Fernandez.

England fly-half Owen Farrell and Chile fly-half Rodrigo Fernandez.

England will look to make it three wins out of three at the Rugby World Cup when they face off with Chile at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille on Saturday.

After a George Ford-inspired victory over Argentina was backed up by a bonus-point triumph over Japan, they are in the box seat to take top spot in the group.

Few expect anything but a maximum against the lowest ranked side in the World Cup, but the South Americans have impressed in their two opening fixtures.

While their final scorelines against Japan (42-12) and Samoa (43-10) may look comfortable results they were anything but as Chile fared well for long periods.

This, however, is their toughest assignment of the pool as even a much-changed England team should have far too much quality and run out healthy winners.

Of course the big story of the English team selection is the return from suspension of Owen Farrell, who takes over from Ford at 10 for some much-needed match time. All eyes will be on the captain, not least because of Ford’s exemplary performances so far, as Steve Borthwick now has a selection headache for future games.

There’s also first starts at Rugby World Cup 2023 for Marcus Smith, Henry Arundell, Billy Vunipola, Jack Willis and many more as England refresh their side. Smith’s inclusion at full-back is perhaps the most interesting selection and he will strive to provide a similarly busy impact to his two substitute appearances thus far.

Following this clash England will enjoy a bye week when they can recover ahead of a final pool match against Samoa that could be decisive in who finishes top.

What they said

Speaking about Smith starting in the number 15 shirt, England head coach Borthwick hopes to see more of the same from the regular fly-half at this World Cup.

“He has had three appearances off the bench at 15 and in each of those he has done really well. You see an exciting, talented player who finds space,” he praised.

“I am pleased with the way this squad is building into this tournament. I am pleased how we have progressed and I’m looking forward to the game on Saturday.”

Borthwick also touched on Farrell’s return from suspension and lauded the player’s impact on the squad, despite not being able to feature in their opening games.

“We are all tremendously excited to see our captain on the grass on Saturday,” said the head coach. “He has been an incredible leader for this team despite being unable to play in the first two games of the World Cup. He has been a fantastic influence. He has been a role model on the training field and off the training field.”

Meanwhile, Chile captain Martín Sigren understands the task that awaits his side but urged his team to “enjoy it” when they take on the Red Rose this weekend.

“It is a huge challenge. There are very few opportunities one has to face a team with as much history as England and on a Rugby World Cup stage,” Sigren said.

“We want to take advantage of it and enjoy it to the fullest.”

Players to watch

Expect plenty of camera time on returning skipper Owen Farrell as he looks to hit the ground running after his stint out of the game. With Ford having been in outstanding form thus far in France, Farrell will know he needs a strong performance if he is to wrestle the number 10 jersey back off his in-form team-mate.

There will also be plenty of excitement as Marcus Smith and Henry Arundell link up in England’s back three, with both players electric with ball in hand who could enjoy the open spaces on Saturday, while keep an eye on Billy Vunipola and Theo Dan, as the Saracens pair look to prove their worth to Borthwick.

For Chile changes to their line-up have been made due to injury and handing players Rugby World Cup exposure, which includes a start for Cristobal Game. There’s plenty of excitement around the former Sevens exponent and head coach Pablo Lemoine believes he’s “one of the most promising players in Chilean rugby.”

Prediction

In what is the first ever meeting between the two nations and despite the wholesale changes, it should be a comfortable day at the office for England. It’s been noticeable in their games that Chile have struggled to limit the impact of the opposition driving maul and the Red Rose could capitalise. England by 50 points.

The teams

England: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Henry Arundell, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Max Malins, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 George Martin, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 George Ford, 23 Joe Marchant

Chile: 15 Francisco Urroz, 14 Cristobal Game, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Matias Garafulic, 11 Franco Velarde, 10 Rodrigo Fernandez, 9 Benjamin Videla, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 7 Ignacio Silva, 6 Martín Sigren (c), 5 Javier Eissmann, 4 Clemente Saavedra, 3 Matias Dittus, 2 Augusto Bohme, 1 Salvador Lues
Replacements: 16 Tomas Dussaillant, 17 Vittorio Lastra, 18 Inaki Gurruchaga, 19 Pablo Huete, 20 Thomas Orchard, 21 Raimundo Martínez, 22 Lukas Carvallo, 23 Inaki Ayarza

Date: Saturday, September 23
Venue: Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille
Kick-off: 17:45 local (16:45 BST, 15:45 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Referees: Pierre Brousset (FFR), Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

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