England vs Argentina – Rugby World Cup LIVE: Alex Mitchell handed a surprise start for Steve Borthwick’s side following difficult tournament preparations

Fans and journalists outside the ground are sending in their images and footage as they struggle to make progress into the ground.

Finally we can bring you some photos of what we’re all hoping for this tournament – England fans having a great time.

Here you can see some of our committed travellers mingling with rival supporters and enjoying drinks.

One can only hope the others stuck outside get in with minimal trouble from here on out.

Fans have been telling Chris Foy of their experiences outside the stadium in the build-up to England vs Argentina.

One England fan who had to endure a long, fraught battle to enter the stadium said: ‘Just got to our seats. It was an abject disaster. No signage. No people to direct – 67,000 people funnelled through a single staircase. Elbows everywhere. And then when you get inside, the sections are poorly labelled. We found ours by accident.’

Argentina head coach Michael Cheika has given his thoughts ahead of the game. Cheika has had a varied career across both codes of rugby and now he’s back at the World Cup with a different team.

‘I feel extremely connected to this bunch of guys, he said, speaking of his adaptation into the Pumas community. ‘I feel part of the family. It’s great to be here with them.’

Here’s a video from another Twitter user.

Chris Foy has written: ‘Hope they sort this mess out soon. Hordes of fans trying to enter the stadium and the crush is getting worse. Just saw one guy who had made it through the gates punching the air in relief.’

‘Serious problems outside the stadium here with thousands of fans stuck in big crushes to come through security checks at the gates. Judging by the current, chaotic scenes, not everyone will make it inside in time for kick-off in 25 minutes. No word yet about the start of the game being pushed back though.’

Here’s another look at the chaos outside the stadium.

If you want more of our coverage of the Rugby World Cup, you can check out Nik Simon and Kevin Quigley’s series ‘Croqued’, a fun and informative take on their travels covering this tournament in France, packed with rugby chat and insight.

As you can see, one of the entrances to the Stade Velodrome is packed with just half an hour to go to kick-off.

Courtney Lawes has spoken about the honour of captaining England as he leads them out in what is his fourth World Cup campaign.

‘It’s huge for me, a big honour. I just want to do my best for the boys and the people at home supporting us. It’s a really exciting weekend. We’ve had a really good training week and we’re looking forward to getting stuck in.

We have to be defensively and physically sound. We have to match [Argentina] up front first and foremost. And we have a game plan put in place which will suit our strengths and give us plenty of options.

There’s definitely frustration. We feel it as much as anybody. We’re in the thick of it. We’re doing everything we can to make sure come this weekend we are firing on all cylinders.’

Mail Sport columnist and former World Cup winner Sir Clive Woodward has just told ITV Sport: ‘I think it’d be an upset if we win tonight.’

Argentina present a unique challenge as one of the most fiery teams in rugby and won at Twickenham last year 30-29. don’t take them lightly.

Maro Itoje has issued some defiant words ahead of tonight’s clash.

Steve Borthwick has lost six of his first nine games in charge of England but Itoje, who starts in the second row tonight, insists that England know their quality.

‘We know who we are, we know the type of players we have, we know the quality of coaches we have,’ he said.

‘We haven’t played as well as we can, but we know the potential of this group, you know the attitude of the players and the coaches and it can only fill you with confidence.

‘We want to be part of something special and that starts this weekend.

‘We’ve seen how England get behind their national teams and we want to produce rugby that will get the country behind us.’

Finally they’re on the turf. The World Cup opener for England is less than an hour away! Four years we’ve waited, and now you can almost taste it.

Now for a look at Argentina’s starting XV for this clash.

Julian Montoya is the headline name and captain in the front row, also skippering Leicester Tigers. He’s powerful and has been named in the Gallagher Premiership team of the season twice in a row.

Marcos Kremer is back after a ban. He turns out for Clermont in the club season and has 57 Argentina caps to his name.

It’s no secret that England World Cup build-up has been rocked by a pile-on of issues. Once a slick operation, England go into this World Cup with pessimistic talk surrounding them.

There have been bans, injuries, a first-ever loss to Fiji, and so much more. For a team that reached the final under Eddie Jones in 2019, anything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong, writes Kieran Lynch.

Check out Mail Sport’s Rugby page elsewhere on our website to read his report.

This is what the centre of operations ahead of kick-off for each team tonight.

In the middle image, you can see the jerseys of Manu Tuilagi, who starts at inside centre; George Ford, who is at fly-half; and Alex Mitchell at No 6.

England have a good record against Argentina, having won 19 of 25 encounters, but try telling these South American fans that the history books matter.

They’ve turned out in full force and Argentine regalia for this one. One thing is for sure: whatever happens on the field, there is going to be a firecracker of an atmosphere in the Stade Velodrome tonight.

Steve Borthwick has the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders and will know that his team selection will set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

Alex Mitchell is handed a surprise start at No 9 after a whirlwind few weeks. The Northampton Saints man wasn’t even included in Borthwick’s initial squad for the tournament, but the withdrawal of Jack Van Poortvliet led to his inclusion and now he starts ahead of Danny Care and Ben Youngs for his seventh cap.

Courtney Lawes captains the team from No 6 in the absence of Owen Farrell, having picked up his 100th cap against Fiji.

Jonny May is also on the wing – he also wasn’t included in the original 33-man squad.

Here is England’s line-up for their World Cup opener.

Good evening and welcome to Mail Sport’s live blog as England commence their Rugby World Cup campaign against Argentina.

The Stade Velodrome in Marseille, an absolute cauldron of a venue, will play host to tonight’s occasion as Steve Borthwick’s men look to put their recent woes behind them.

Kick-off is at 8pm and here at Mail Sport we’ll be bringing you all the build-up, live action, and reaction.