England kick-off against Argentina this weekend (Picture: Julian Finney-World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

England are just days away from the start of their Rugby World Cup 2023 campaign, which gets underway with a clash against Argentina in Marseille on Saturday.

Steve Borthwick’s squad head into the tournament at rock bottom following a disastrous 2023 season which saw them finish fourth in the Six Nations back in the spring.

And their World Cup preparations over recent weeks have, in truth, been nothing short of shambolic, with the team beaten for the very first time in their history by Fiji in a World Cup warm-up game at Twickenham.

Further losses to Wales and Ireland have only been part of the chaos, with Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola missing the start of the tournament having been handed bans for respective dangerous tackles.

Farrell’s four game ban for his rogue tackle against Wales at Twickenham will see him miss England’s opening two World Cup fixtures, whilst Vunipola’s own indiscretion against Ireland in Dublin has seen him handed a three match ban – ruling him out of the clash with the South Americans.

Let’s take a look at England’s confirmed squad for the Rugby World Cup along with their all-important pool stage fixtures.

Who is in England’s Rugby World Cup squad?

Borthwick has named a 33-strong England squad consisting of 19 forwards and 14 backs.

Owen Farrell has made the cut despite his ban (Picture: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

England have selected all three fly-halves with George Ford and Marcus Smith joining Farrell, whilst Billy Vunipola is the only specialist No 8 with Alex Dombrandt missing out.

Vunipola’s inclusion represents something of a risk, given the fan favourite has been out since April having undergone knee surgery.

But Borthwick will argue that Tom Curry, Ben Earl and Lewis Ludlam are all capable of covering the position – despite the fact only Vunipola possesses the specialist set-piece skills afforded by playing in the position every week.

There is no place in the squad for experienced campaigner Mako Vunipola owing to fitness concerns, whilst Exeter Chiefs’ Henry Slade has also failed to make the cut.

The omissions of Slade and Dombrandt are particular surprises given they featured regularly for England during the Six Nations campaign.

Jack van Poortvliet, who had been named in the original squad, has been forced to withdraw due to injury and has been replaced by Alex Mitchell.

Anthony Watson has withdrawn from the squad after picking up a calf injury against Ireland, with England’s record try-scorer Jonny May called up as his replacement.

Dan Cole, Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs will all be playing in their fourth Rugby World Cup.

England’s Rugby World Cup fixtures

England have been drawn in Pool D alongside Argentina, Japan, Chile and Samoa.

The top two in the pool will qualify for the quarter-finals.

If England qualify from the group, as expected, they will play one of Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia or Portugal in the last eight.

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