And he admits that the presence of Argentine players at clubs in France has only combined to make England’s task harder as they look to reach a third successive final.

“You test yourself as a player, as a front row forward, against the Argentineans and the French,” said Rowntree, whose exclusion from the 2003 World Cup squad was described by Sir Clive Woodward as one of the most difficult of his England career.

“When you've got Argentineans playing with French clubs, that doubles the challenge.

"As a youngster, one of my first caps was against Argentina and that was a difficult evening. It's a benchmark of scrummaging gurus - how do you do against a team like Argentina or France?

“Are they the best in the business? We'll see in this competition.

“They're a very physical outfit. That philosophy on scrummaging is to be respected - but we like scrummaging as well!”

Argentina – who finished in third place in France in 2007 – have named their side ahead of the game on Saturday.

Coach Santiago Phelan has brought in Stade Francais’ Gonzalo Tiesi at outside centre, replacing Marcelo Bosch.

Tiesi missed Argentina’s 28-13 defeat to Wales in their final warm-up match at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.

Felipe Contepomi will captain the side in his fourth World Cup, a feat that will be matched by the 38-year-old hooker Mario Ledesma while Juan Figallo retains his place at tighthead prop ahead of Martín Scelzo.

"We know [Figallo] is a young player but he is developing very well," said Phelan.

"He had a very good year in Montpellier and we think he is the best option for the tighthead prop and also he can play loosehead.

Argentina side to face England in Pool B on Saturday:

15. Martín Rodríguez - Stade Francais

14. Gonzalo Camacho - Exeter

13. Gonzalo Tiesi - Stade Francais

12. Santiago Fernández - Montpellier

11. Horacio Agulla - Leicester

10. Felipe Contepomi - Stade Francais

9. Nicolas Vergallo - Toulouse

1. Rodrigo Roncero - Stade Francais

2. Mario Ledesma - Unattached

Replacements: 

16. Agustín Creevy - Montpellier

17. Martín Scelzo - Agen

18. Mariano Galarza - Leinster

19. Alejandro Campos - Unattached

20. Alfredo Lalanne - Unattached

21. Marcelo Bosch - Biarritz

22. Juan Jose Imhoff - Duendes