Wales will contest their seventh Rugby World Cup quarter-final when they take on Argentina in Marseille on Saturday.

And their record under head coach Warren Gatland shows four successive appearances in the last eight.

Here, the PA news agency looks back on Wales’ last five quarter-finals.

Wales 9 Australia 24 (Cardiff, 1999)

Wales made Australia work for victory in a rain-swept Cardiff, but three Neil Jenkins penalties proved their only scoreboard rewards as the Wallabies marched on. Two George Gregan tries and a Ben Tune touchdown reflected the attacking quality of Australia’s backs, even in such testing conditions, and the Wallabies went on to be crowned world champions for a second time by demolishing France 35-12 two weeks later.

England 28 Wales 17 (Brisbane, 2003)

England were given a major fright on their way to winning the World Cup as Wales provided fierce opposition in Brisbane. Tries by Stephen Jones – he rounded off a brilliant length-of-the-field move – Colin Charvis and Martyn Williams underpinned Wales’ display, and England had to dig deep before prevailing on the back of 23 points from Jonny Wilkinson and a Will Greenwood touchdown. Having also tested New Zealand in their final pool game, Wales flew home with heads held high.

Wales 22 Ireland 10 (Wellington, 2011)

Wales secured a first World Cup semi-final spot for 24 years after producing a dominant display against Ireland in Wellington. Wales never looked seriously troubled as they triumphed on the back of tries from Shane Williams, Mike Phillips and Jonathan Davies. Although they won their pool, Ireland were no match for a Wales team that went on to lose against semi-final opponents France after skipper Sam Warburton was sent off.

Wales 19 South Africa 23 (Twickenham, 2015)

Wales’ World Cup journey ended at Twickenham, but not before they stood toe to toe with South Africa’s revered pack throughout an enthralling contest. Springboks scrum-half Fourie du Preez’s 75th-minute try finally broke Welsh resistance, halting a campaign that had seen Wales progress from a tough pool that also included England and Australia. Scrum-half Gareth Davies scored a try, with Dan Biggar kicking 14 points.

Wales 20 France 19 (Oita, 2019)

Wales needed a late Ross Moriarty try to subdue France after fighting back from 19-10 adrift at half-time. Les Bleus had lock Sebastien Vahaamahina sent off early in the second period following an elbow on Aaron Wainwright, and it proved decisive as Moriarty’s score followed an earlier Wainwright touchdown, while Biggar kicked two penalties and two conversions. Wales booked a last-four appointment with South Africa in Yokohama.

Wales and Argentina will face each other in a first Rugby World Cup clash since 1999 on Saturday.

The opening Marseille quarter-final sees Wales start as favourites after they collected 19 points from a possible 20 in winning their pool.

Here, the PA newes agency looks back on five memorable Test matches between the two countries.

Wales 43 Argentina 30 (Llanelli, 1998)

Graham Henry’s second game in charge as Wales head coach produced a high-scoring spectacle at Stradey Park. Fly-half Neil Jenkins contributed 23 points and there were tries for Colin Charvis (two), Dafydd James and Mark Taylor. Argentina, playing only their second full international match against Wales following a World Cup pool game eight years earlier, trailed 26-25 at the interval before Henry’s team had enough in the tank to see themselves home.

Argentina 16 Wales 23 (Buenos Aires, 1999)

Wales clinched a first Test series triumph against the Pumas in Argentina by ultimately holding their nerve during a game mainly remembered for a mass brawl. The melee spilled over the touchline and into the dug-out area, with English referee Chris White issuing yellow cards to Wales prop Peter Rogers, plus Argentina forwards Mauricio Reggiardo and Pedro Sporleder. Hooker Garin Jenkins’ try and five Neil Jenkins penalties and a drop goal proved enough.

Argentina 20 Wales 35 (Buenos Aires, 2004)

Wales claimed a first away win against any opponent for three years as they recovered impressively from losing the first Test 50-44 in Tucuman seven days earlier. Mike Ruddock’s team led by 25 points at the interval following Shane Williams’ memorable hat-trick of tries and they then had to hold off a fierce Pumas fightback. Gavin Henson, playing at full-back, kicked 15 points and fly-half Nicky Robinson also touched down.

Wales 40 Argentina 6 (Cardiff, 2013)

Wales emphatically ended a run of home defeats in the autumn internationals by posting what remains a record win against Argentina. The tone was set by scrum-half Mike Phillips’ fine solo try after he broke clear from inside his own half and a dominant display also saw George North, Taulupe Faetau and Ken Owens touch down. Leigh Halfpenny booted 20 points on a day that saw prop Gethin Jenkins become the fourth Welshman to win 100 caps.

Argentina 12 Wales 30 (Resistencia, 2018)

Wales’ first series win in Argentina for 19 years was achieved on the back of Rhys Patchell’s outstanding goal-kicking – he landed 20 points – and tries by backs Josh Adams and Hallam Amos. Number eight Ross Moriarty was sent off late in the game, but Wales had already done enough to claim a notable triumph. It concluded a tour that had earlier seen them beat South Africa in Washington DC.

Wales will contest their seventh Rugby World Cup quarter-final when they take on Argentina in Marseille on Saturday.

And their record under head coach Warren Gatland shows four successive appearances in the last eight.

Here, the PA news agency looks back on Wales’ last five quarter-finals.

Wales 9 Australia 24 (Cardiff, 1999)

Wales made Australia work for victory in a rain-swept Cardiff, but three Neil Jenkins penalties proved their only scoreboard rewards as the Wallabies marched on. Two George Gregan tries and a Ben Tune touchdown reflected the attacking quality of Australia’s backs, even in such testing conditions, and the Wallabies went on to be crowned world champions for a second time by demolishing France 35-12 two weeks later.

England 28 Wales 17 (Brisbane, 2003)

England were given a major fright on their way to winning the World Cup as Wales provided fierce opposition in Brisbane. Tries by Stephen Jones – he rounded off a brilliant length-of-the-field move – Colin Charvis and Martyn Williams underpinned Wales’ display, and England had to dig deep before prevailing on the back of 23 points from Jonny Wilkinson and a Will Greenwood touchdown. Having also tested New Zealand in their final pool game, Wales flew home with heads held high.

Wales 22 Ireland 10 (Wellington, 2011)

Wales secured a first World Cup semi-final spot for 24 years after producing a dominant display against Ireland in Wellington. Wales never looked seriously troubled as they triumphed on the back of tries from Shane Williams, Mike Phillips and Jonathan Davies. Although they won their pool, Ireland were no match for a Wales team that went on to lose against semi-final opponents France after skipper Sam Warburton was sent off.

Wales 19 South Africa 23 (Twickenham, 2015)

Wales’ World Cup journey ended at Twickenham, but not before they stood toe to toe with South Africa’s revered pack throughout an enthralling contest. Springboks scrum-half Fourie du Preez’s 75th-minute try finally broke Welsh resistance, halting a campaign that had seen Wales progress from a tough pool that also included England and Australia. Scrum-half Gareth Davies scored a try, with Dan Biggar kicking 14 points.

Wales 20 France 19 (Oita, 2019)

Wales needed a late Ross Moriarty try to subdue France after fighting back from 19-10 adrift at half-time. Les Bleus had lock Sebastien Vahaamahina sent off early in the second period following an elbow on Aaron Wainwright, and it proved decisive as Moriarty’s score followed an earlier Wainwright touchdown, while Biggar kicked two penalties and two conversions. Wales booked a last-four appointment with South Africa in Yokohama.

England have been watching footage of their calamitous defeat by Fiji in August as a reminder of what not to do in Sunday’s World Cup quarter-final.

Fiji stormed Twickenham 30-22 to claim their first ever victory over the red rose in eight meetings and defence coach Kevin Sinfield has been showing clips of the worst moments to the squad ahead of the rematch in Marseille.

To offset memories of the one the nation’s lowest ebbs, Sinfield has also been demonstrating to England how far they have successfully rebuilt come since that grim day.

“That match has been brought up this week. We would have been stupid not to because it was almost like a line in the sand, something for us to step forward from,” hooker Jamie George said.

“We learned a huge amount that week and we are a significantly better side on the back of it.

“We weren’t physical enough and some clips have been shown because it is a reminder we can’t be that team again, playing against a very, very good Fiji who are very dangerous when you give them what they want.

“Kev Sinfield said ‘I wasn’t sure about showing you this, but we can’t be this team again’.

“We are still hurting from performances like that, I still hurt from performances three years ago. You don’t like to be reminded of those things but if that can fuel the fire then why not?

“It has been received really well and the way we trained today (Wednesday) showed our intent is going to be very different, there was a bite to training.

“We probably got a few things wrong tactically during the week of that game but emotionally and physically we were off as well for whatever reason. It was us not being the England team we wanted to be.

“Fiji running riot at Twickenham and it’s been like ‘that can’t happen’ and then showing some positive clips of where we have come to now, how we have defended through the World Cup.”

Since that victory, the Islanders’ progress has been mixed with the narrowest of defeats to Wales and a victory over Australia, followed by an escape against Georgia and shock loss to Portugal.

They grew steadily worse as Pool C unfolded, perhaps in evidence of the pressure they are under to meet the expectations of a hopeful nation and at being cast as darlings of the World Cup.

England are significant favourites heading into the Stade Velodrome showdown but lightning could strike twice against one of the most naturally gifted teams in the tournament.

“I’m a fan of their work. I like how they have grown their set piece, everyone talks about Fiji and thinks about their offloading game, which they are fantastic at, they talk about the way they move the ball but they are a team that if you break it down are based around the set piece,” George said.

“They have big men in the pack who know what they are doing, they have played in top leagues for a long time. The way they have evolved their game is impressive and they deserve to be in this quarter-final.”

Wales say that fly-half talisman Dan Biggar is fit for the Rugby World Cup quarter-final clash against Argentina on Saturday.

Biggar went off after just 12 minutes of Wales’ record 40-6 win against Australia during an unbeaten march through Pool C.

He suffered a pectoral muscle strain and was an unused replacement for the Georgia game last weekend, having been rushed on to the bench when Sam Costelow was summoned to start instead of an injured Gareth Anscombe.

When asked if Biggar was fit to face the Pumas in Marseille, Wales assistant coach Jonathan Thomas said: “Yes.”

There is also encouraging news about Anscombe and full-back Liam Williams.

Anscombe withdrew 45 minutes before kick-off against Georgia due to a groin problem, while Williams was on crutches after taking a blow to his knee.

Those issues came on top of number eight Taulupe Faletau breaking his arm and being ruled out of the tournament remainder.

“At this stage, it is looking positive,” Thomas said, of Anscombe and Williams. “Every day it will evolve. It is probably not as bad as first feared.

“The crutches thing was to try and offload any pressure. It doesn’t mean he (Williams) has done anything severe. He was jogging about today with the medics.

“I saw him (Anscombe) jogging around on the pitch, along with Liam today.

“The first 48 hours after you have a knock is very important in terms of assessing it. With both Liam and Gareth, it is pretty positive.

“That is not me committing to saying they are definitely going to be available. It is an ongoing thing. They were both running around today with the medics, and they will try to progress that each day.”

Wales head coach Warren Gatland is due to name his starting line-up on Thursday, with Aaron Wainwright expected to move from blindside flanker as Faletau’s replacement.

That could then mean captain Jac Morgan wearing the number six shirt and Tommy Reffell starting at openside, although Dan Lydiate and Christ Tshiunza could also be back-row options.

Thomas added: “There was definitely a little bit of a cloud over the victory (against Georgia) because of what happened to Taulupe.

“We have been together for a long time as a whole group, and you build relationships and you become a little bit like a family. When one of your brothers has to leave, it is tough.

“It is what it is. You have got to deal with it and you have got to move on. That is sport and the harsh reality of it.”

Wales face Argentina for the first time in a World Cup game since 1999, and they will start as favourites after collecting 19 points from a possible 20 in their group.

Argentina, in contrast, lost to 14-man England and were unconvincing against Samoa, before clinching qualification by beating Japan.

“For us as a collective, our goal from day one has been to get to knockout rugby,” Thomas said.

“We have achieved that, but we are not satisfied with just getting to the quarter-finals.

“When you get to this stage, any team on their day can beat anyone. There are quality teams and quality players in the last eight.

“I thought they (Argentina) looked more cohesive in their last game against Japan in terms of their attack.

“If you win your first game in the Six Nations, momentum is huge, and it is the same with the World Cup. Every team at this stage will feel confident and feel they have momentum on their side.”

Wales were left to count the cost of their Rugby World Cup victory over Georgia after number eight Taulupe Faletau suffered a broken arm and two other players were also injured.

Faletau, who has won more than 100 caps, will take no further part in the tournament as Wales build towards a quarter-final against probably Argentina or Japan in Marseille next weekend.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland said no decision had yet been made on a replacement for Faletau, although flanker Aaron Wainwright is an option to move across the back-row.

Fly-half Gareth Anscombe, meanwhile, withdrew 45 minutes before kick-off in Nantes following a groin problem suffered during the warm-up.

And full-back Liam Williams was on crutches after Gatland said he took a blow to his knee, but Wales are hopeful he will be fit for the quarter-final, with Wales ending their Pool C campaign as group winners with four successive victories following a 43-19 triumph.

“Toby (Faletau) has broken his arm so he will be out,” Gatland said.

“We are just going to assess Gareth over the next 72 hours. He has pulled his groin very high up.

“Talking to the medics, he has got a bit of power still in his leg which is a positive. It means he has not pulled it off the bone.

“We will probably know in the next 48-72 hours what we need to do with him. Whether we’ve got (time) for him to recover or replace him directly.

“We have got to look at a replacement for Faletau, whether that is directly as a loose-forward replacement or whether we look at another position.

“We’ve got a few sore players, particularly in the backs, after today’s game.

“If you do see Liam Williams on crutches, it is not that he has done anything significantly bad.

“He got a whack on the knee, and the medics, from a comfort perspective, have put him on crutches to save him walking around a bit.

“He has got a knock and probably won’t take a huge part in training in the early part of next week, but hopefully he will be fit for the quarter-final.”

Goncalo Ramos scored twice as Paris St Germain shrugged off last week’s Ligue 1 loss to Nice by strolling to a 4-0 win over bitter rivals Marseille at the Parc des Princes.

The 22-year-old Portugal striker replaced the injured Kylian Mbappe just past the half-hour mark and added his brace to earlier strikes from Achraf Hakimi and Kolo Muani as the reigning champions eased to victory in Le Classique.

The win will allay concerns over PSG’s sluggish start to the domestic season while it heaps more frustration on the visitors who have now gone three Ligue 1 games without a win.

PSG were on top from the opening moments, pinning Marseille back and taking just eight minutes to open their account when Hakimi curled a brilliant free-kick past Pau Lopez after Mbappe was fouled on the edge of the box.

Mbappe was almost played in by Warren Zaire-Emery before Marseille missed a rare chance to equalise when Vitinha headed a cross against the top of the bar.

Mbappe, struggling from the effects of an early challenge, was replaced by Ramos after 32 minutes, and five minutes later Muani made it two by prodding home the rebound after Hakimi’s initial low shot came back off the post.

Two minutes into the second half Ramos grabbed his first goal since his summer move from Benfica when he met a cross from Ousmane Dembele with a brilliant header past Lopez.

It was relentless stuff from PSG with Hakimi firing just over the bar then sending another free-kick just wide as Marseille barely got a look-in.

Chancel Mbemba summoned a pair of speculative efforts but it was clearly all in vain for the visitors, and their pain increased in the dying minutes as PSG scored a deserved fourth.

A Marseille free-kick was swiftly cleared and Muani roved into the visitors’ half where he found Ramos who delivered a well-judged shot over Lopez to complete a one-sided win.

Gregor Townsend expressed sympathy for Dave Cherry after the veteran hooker’s first World Cup was brought to a premature end following a fall down the stairs at Scotland’s team hotel.

It emerged on Thursday that the 32-year-old had withdrawn from the squad with concussion after he took a tumble and banged his head at the Scots’ tournament base near Nice on Monday while the players were enjoying some down time with their families.

The previous day, Cherry had played his first World Cup match as a second-half replacement for George Turner in the 18-3 defeat by world champions South Africa in Marseille.

The Edinburgh hooker flew out of France on Thursday to return home, where his fiancée Olivia is due to give birth in the coming weeks.

Stuart McInally – cut from the provisional training squad last month – has been drafted in as Cherry’s replacement.

“It’s very difficult for Dave, and it’s sad,” head coach Townsend said at a media briefing in Nice on Thursday.

“At least he got to play in a game. His wife’s just about to give birth so at least he’s got something positive to go back to. He did well to get himself into the World Cup squad and he did well at the weekend. He would have had more involvement as we went through the pool.”

Cherry’s misfortune has paved the way for a remarkable career swansong for McInally. The 33-year-old announced in April that he would be retiring from rugby after the World Cup to pursue a career as an airline pilot.

McInally was part of Townsend’s 41-man provisional training group for the tournament, but the head coach then omitted him when he named his final 33-man squad in August, seemingly ending the career of the man who captained the Scots at the last World Cup in Japan.

However, the long-serving Edinburgh forward was invited out to France last week to provide cover after hooker Ewan Ashman sustained a head knock in training and he attended Sunday’s match in Marseille before being told his services were no longer required and flying home on Monday.

McInally’s roller-coaster summer then took another twist when he was summoned back to the south of France on Wednesday.

“He’s been called out twice now,” said Townsend, reflecting on whirlwind period for the veteran.

“On Monday I was chatting to him back at the hotel and I said ‘you can stay until tomorrow or go back today, it looks like Ewan is on track to make a full recovery, so there’s no reason to stay’.

“And then he came back out two days later and he’s trained today. He’s obviously kept training, he’s been topping up (his fitness) and he’s always said he’d be ready for the opportunity. Maybe he would have been thinking that would have happened last week, but it’s now happened for him.

“Stuart is a very experienced player for us. He’s obviously been at World Cups before and had trained really well throughout the (pre-tournament) camp and had played well so we’re fortunate that we have someone with his experience and quality to step in.”

The Scots trained on Thursday for the first time Sunday’s bruising encounter with South Africa and Townsend was pleased to see Finn Russell come through the session after the talismanic stand-off took a couple of heavy hits against the Boks, one of which required lengthy on-field treatment.

George Horne and Ashman also took part after concussion ruled them out of contention for the opening game and the pair are on track to return to the fold for the next match against Tonga in Nice on Sunday week.

“Yes, Finn trained,” said Townsend. “There were two guys with red bibs on (George Horne and Ewan Ashman) today. It was a non-contact session although we did do a contact element.

“The two guys with red bibs on didn’t do that (contact element) but Finn wasn’t in a red bib which means he’s obviously able to do some sort of contact, which is a good recovery. He did the whole session.”

The only player who missed training on Thursday was back-rower Luke Crosbie, who was ruled out last weekend with a rib problem.

“Luke is on track, he’s just ill today,” reported the head coach. “He trained on Tuesday morning with the physios. He’s now fully available for selection, but overnight he had a stomach complaint so that’s why he wasn’t training today.

“The other two (Horne and Ashman) came through the session fine and their next stage is to add contact which will be tomorrow. Ali Price went off (the training pitch) as a precaution with a tight groin, but I don’t think it will be anything serious.”

The Scotland players had three days off following Sunday’s defeat by South Africa, with the players’ families invited into the camp.

Townsend is adamant there will be no hangover from their opening-weekend setback as they build towards the Tonga showdown.

“I don’t think morale was ever affected,” he said when asked if he felt the short break was beneficial to the players.

“We knew this would be an opportunity to spend time with families because our next games (after Tonga) are pretty much game then into six or seven-day turnarounds, so it will be quickly into that process.

“We saw the families all together in the hotel for the last two or three days and that was really good, but the mindset they came in to train with today was excellent.

“They worked really hard. That was a tough session, tomorrow’s will be tough again, and Sunday’s will be tough. We know we’ve got an opportunity now to push things a bit harder and then we get back into a normal Test week, which starts on Tuesday for us.”

John Dalziel has no doubt about Scotland’s ability to bounce back from their opening-weekend setback against South Africa and set up a potential qualification decider with Ireland in Paris.

The Scots suffered a demoralising start to their World Cup campaign when they produced a disappointing performance in an 18-3 loss to the Springboks in Marseille.

Dalziel knew starting off against the world champions was always going to be a tough assignment so does not expect their chastening outing to affect the players’ mindset going into their remaining three Pool B games against Tonga, Romania and Ireland.

The squad have had the last few days off with their families and the forwards coach is confident they will all be able to get their “heads straight” in time for their next match against Tonga in Nice a week on Sunday.

“We’ve been in this position a couple of times where we’ve been disappointed with performances,” Dalziel told the PA news agency.

“It’s not the end of the world for us, but we need to get our heads straight for the next game against Tonga because we’ve got to get that game right.

“We spoke a lot about how difficult this group would be. We know we could have gone out on Sunday and played some of our best rugby and still lost the game so it was always going to be important how we go on from here.

“The difference was we didn’t play our best rugby on Sunday, but the positive is that we’ve got three other games to try and rebuild it and find another route out of the group.

“We will take it game by game, but we want to arrive in Paris for that last game with an opportunity knowing that if we win we can progress.”

Dalziel admitted “it didn’t feel like us” on Sunday as Scotland failed to score a try for the first time since autumn 2020 and posted their lowest points return since losing 27-3 to Ireland in the opening match of the 2019 World Cup.

“I was disappointed with the lack of accuracy at times, but even with the inaccuracy in the first half, we put ourselves in a good position with that big set before half-time to come in at 6-3 (down),” he said.

“It was a really positive changing room because of how poor we had been and the fact we were still in the game against the world champions.

“But we just never got into our stride, it didn’t feel like us. It wasn’t the end in any way, though, just a disappointing start. And we’ve got to do it the hard way, as always.”

Dalziel believes that, if Scotland are able to execute their attacking game, they will have a good chance of getting up and running against Tonga next weekend.

“Tonga will bring physicality up front, they’ll want to stop us playing, but we can find opportunities around that in terms of what we do,” he said.

“We just want to look at having a good performance. The performance is the focus, not the outcome. If we get our performance right, we’ll have a great chance of winning that game.”

Steve Borthwick insists England are ready to defy gloomy predictions for their World Cup by delivering a reaction against Argentina in Saturday’s pivotal opener.

The Pumas are in the rare position of being assigned favourites for the main event of Pool D, based on a strong year under the guidance of Michael Cheika and their 30-29 victory at Twickenham in November.

England, meanwhile, have gone into freefall following a run of five defeats in six Tests that no longer makes qualification for the knockout phase appear to be the formality it once was.

Borthwick, who has named Alex Mitchell at scrum-half and Tom Curry at openside for the Marseille showdown, insists the low expectations have sent ripples of indignation through the squad.

“I sense there is a feeling among the players they’ve been written off too early. People have called time on them a bit too early,” England’s head coach said.

“I sense the frustration about what people have been saying about them and right now I have an expectation that they will go and perform with the quality that they have.

“I sense from them that there’s a real determination to go and put their best performances on the park.

“There is a lot of class in this squad. The players have a hell of a lot more to go. They can’t wait to get stuck in on Saturday night.

“Our job is put in a performance that this team is capable of and I know these players are capable of. I know these players are determined to deliver on Saturday night. That’s our job now.”

Borthwick’s theme of an England side ready to exit their slump in time to make an impact at the World Cup was taken up by captain Courtney Lawes, who is leading the team in the absence of the suspended Owen Farrell.

When asked if the players are angry at recent performances, Lawes replied: “There’s definitely a frustration. We feel it as much as anybody.

“We are in the thick of it and we are doing everything we can to make sure, come this weekend, we are firing on all cylinders.

“It’s going to be a hell of a spectacle, so enjoy it. We are going out all guns blazing and we are going to give it everything we have got.

“It’s the first game of the World Cup and we’re going to be well up for it.”

Offering hope to England supporters is the selection of Mitchell ahead of Danny Care and Ben Youngs, with the 26-year-old half-back a more dynamic presence than his veteran rivals for the jersey.

The tempo and energy brought by Mitchell, both through his delivery and with the ball in hand, was one of the few highlights to emerge from a chastening defeat by Fiji last month.

Remarkably he starts in England’s biggest game since the 2019 World Cup final despite being overlooked for their original 33-man squad, with an injury to Jack van Poortvliet offering his route to France.

“Alex was a dangerous running threat against Fiji; everyone knows he is a dangerous running threat,” Borthwick said.

“Immense credit to Mitch in that he was incredibly disappointed not to make the original 33-man squad. An opportunity opened up.

“One of the positives that came out of that Fiji game was his performance. He played well and he’s trained exceptionally well. He’s ready to go.”

Curry’s influence on the team is evident through his promotion to the back row despite having missed the entire build-up campaign because of an ankle injury sustained in training.

“We have got players throughout this 23 who have performed on the biggest of stages and Tom Curry is one of them,” Borthwick said.

“He’s in fantastic physical condition; he missed a period of training but his movement is exceptional.”

England have taken a step towards igniting their attack by picking Alex Mitchell at scrum-half for their crucial World Cup opener against Argentina in Marseille on Saturday.

Mitchell was omitted from the original 33-man squad named by Steve Borthwick only to be given a reprieve when Jack van Poortvliet suffered a tournament-ending ankle injury.

Having impressed on his first Test start against Fiji, the 26-year-old has retained half-back duties with the aim of adding zip to England’s game, while Danny Care provides support from the bench.

Tom Curry makes his first appearance under Borthwick and his maiden outing at any level since Sale lost to Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership final in May after being given the nod at openside.

Curry has been struggling with an ankle injury sustained during training in early August but in an indication of his influence on England, he has been thrust straight into the back row.

Argentina’s scrum may lack of the potency of old but Dan Cole insists it remains a significant threat to England’s goal of making a triumphant start to their World Cup.

Two sides who take pride in their forward dominance collide in Pool D’s highest-profile fixture in Marseille on Saturday, with the winners placing one foot into the quarter-finals.

Argentina’s last great scrum was 2015 when feared props Marcos Ayerza and Ramiro Herrera helped them reach the World Cup semi-finals, but more strings have now been added to the Pumas’ bow.

But tighthead prop Cole insists that with his Leicester-mate Julian Montoya present in their front row at hooker, they are still a formidable set-piece unit.

“It’s a force. Whether it’s the force of your (Martin) Scelzos, (Rodrigo) Ronceros and (Mario) Ledesmas….. But you still have Montoya, who I know brilliantly well,” Cole said.

“You look at their team in the Rugby Championship, they’re dangerous. If you have one scrummage where you are not fully focused they will do you damage and get stuck into you.

“They’re a dangerous team and they’ve grown their game in other areas. We know what’s coming up front.

“They love the physical contest. You speak to some of their front five – Tomas Lavanini when he was at Leicester and Montoya – and they relish the physical part of the game.

“Marcos Ayerza could talk for days about the scrum, both the physical and mental aspect of it.

“That’s the tradition of their game, we respect that and we look forward to playing them because that’s the game.”

Cole will be in the front line of resistance to Argentina’s forward assault at the Stade Velodrome as he prepares to take part in his fourth World Cup, either in the number three jersey or as a replacement.

The 36-year-old’s Test career appeared to be over until Steve Borthwick’s arrival as head coach offered a route back and he made his first appearance since the 2019 final in the recent Six Nations.

England’s scrum was overwhelmed by South Africa in Yokohama four years ago and Cole appeared to have paid the price.

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“I didn’t think this would happen but now I’m here and I’m very happy and grateful to be part of it,” Cole said.

“It was a surprise to get the call from Steve because I hadn’t played for England for three years. I’d worked with him at Leicester but he didn’t give anything away.

“After 2019 and what happened in the final, I wouldn’t say it would have been easy to have packed it in, but it would have been easy to just drift.”

Borthwick names his starting XV on Thursday afternoon, with either Will Stuart or Kyle Sinckler joining Cole in the 23.

England’s head coach faces a difficult decision at scrum-half with no clear pick emerging from the trio of Ben Youngs, Danny Care and Alex Mitchell.

Manu Tuilagi is expected to be joined in the centres by either Ollie Lawrence or Joe Marchant, while two of Elliot Daly, Jonny May, Max Malins and Henry Arundell will fill the wing slots.

Europa League debutants Brighton were drawn to take on former Champions League winners Ajax and Marseille in Friday’s group stage draw.

Roberto De Zerbi’s men secured a first season in continental football with a sixth-place finish in last season’s Premier League table, and their reward is matches against four-time European champions Ajax and the 1993 European Cup winners Marseille.

The Seagulls’ other group opponents are reigning Greek champions AEK Athens, with the first round of group stage games to be played on Thursday, September 21.

Mauricio Pochettino has continued his Chelsea clear-out with striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang completing his move to French Ligue 1 side Marseille.

Marseille confirmed the signing of the 34-year-old Gabon international on Friday, which brings an end to his miserable time in west London.

Aubameyang scored one goal in 15 Premier League appearances for the Blues and was left out of the squad for the Champions League knock-out stages by then boss Graham Potter in February.

Aubameyang has previous experience in Ligue 1 having played for St Etienne for two years from 2011 and 2013 as well as loan spells with Dijon, Lille and Monaco.

The former Arsenal striker joined Chelsea on a two-year contract from Barcelona last September in a deal that saw Marcos Alonso move in the other direction.

But he struggled to settle following the departure of boss Thomas Tuchel and it became increasingly evident that his stay at Stamford Bridge would not be a long one.

Aubameyang follows the likes of Kai Havertz and Mason Mount out of the club this summer while Romelu Lukaku – who preceded Aubameyang in the club’s supposedly “cursed” number nine shirt – Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all absent from the club’s current pre-season tour of the United States.

The curse of Chelsea’s number nine shirt claimed its latest victim after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s unhappy 21-game spell was ended by a move to Marseille.

The last dozen players to wear the shirt have struggled to make a prolonged impact – including three club-record signings up front, but also a holding midfielder and a certain Dutch defender.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the “Curse of Khalid Boulahrouz”.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 2022-23

“It’s cursed, it’s cursed, people tell me it’s cursed!” said then-manager Thomas Tuchel last summer, adding: “There was not a big demand for number nine, nobody wants to touch it.”

Aubameyang was not deterred but, after arriving with a broken jaw sustained in a robbery at his Barcelona home and seeing his former Borussia Dortmund boss Tuchel sacked the day after his debut, he failed to establish himself under Graham Potter – he was not even included in the squad for the Champions League knock-out stages, despite scoring two of his three Chelsea goals in the group stage.

Romelu Lukaku, 2021-22

The Belgium striker returned from Inter Milan for a second spell at the club for £97.5million but within months his frustrations became clear in an interview with Sky Sport Italia.

Despite 15 goals in all competitions, it was no surprise when he returned to Inter on loan. He scored 14 goals in the season while wearing number 90 at San Siro and has been left out of Chelsea’s pre-season tour of America.

Tammy Abraham, 2019-21

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was the last inarguably Chelsea number nine but amid almost £250m spent to fill the troublesome shirt in the 18 years since his departure, academy product Abraham produced arguably the most successful spell with 15 league goals and 18 in total in 2019-20. Twelve more the following year earned a move to Roma under former Blues boss Jose Mourinho.

Gonzalo Higuain, 2018-19

The Argentinian’s loan from Juventus yielded five goals in 18 appearances. He was shunted to number 21 on his return to Juve and terminated his contract early the following season to move to Inter Miami.

Alvaro Morata, 2017-18

A then club-record buy for £60m, the Spaniard scored 15 goals in his debut season but fell out of favour, switching to number 29 and adding another nine goals before joining Atletico Madrid.

Radamel Falcao, 2015-16

The Colombian scored once in 12 games in an injury-hit season.

Fernando Torres, 2011-14

The then British-record £50m signing from Liverpool got the longest run at making the Blues’ number nine shirt work for him, wearing it 172 times across three and a half seasons.

He scored 45 goals, including a memorable Champions League semi-final clincher against Barcelona, and set up another 26 but several prolonged scoring droughts saw him move on to AC Milan on loan and then his boyhood club Atletico Madrid.

Franco Di Santo, 2008-09

Fourteen scoreless substitute appearances were all Di Santo had to show for his time in west London.

Steve Sidwell, 2007-08

The former Reading midfielder managed only 24 appearances, scoring once. A largely defensive player, he would have been a glaringly unlikely wearer of the number nine shirt had it not been for his immediate predecessor…

Khalid Boulahrouz, 2006-07

The versatile Netherlands defender was assigned one of the few available numbers after his £8.5m arrival from Hamburg. He lasted one season and 23 appearances in all competitions before a loan to Sevilla and a permanent exit to Stuttgart.

Hernan Crespo, 2005-06

The Argentina striker had already spent a season at Stamford Bridge wearing number 21, scoring 12 goals, and a year on loan at Milan before Mourinho recalled him and gave him number nine as a show of faith. He added another 13 goals and a league title but soon returned to his earlier employers Inter.

Mateja Kezman, 2004-05

Inheriting the shirt from Hasselbaink, Kezman failed to make a similar impact with just seven goals in his sole season.