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.

Jonathan Humphreys wants the Wales forwards to be remembered for accuracy and a relentless approach at the Rugby World Cup.

The Wales pack can expect an immediate test of its capability against opening Pool C opponents Fiji in Bordeaux on Sunday.

While Fiji are renowned for players with dazzling skills, their set-piece game has improved considerably under head coach Simon Raiwalui.

Georgia’s revered forward power awaits Wales in their final group game, with Australia also likely to pose plenty of questions during what will be a fiercely-contested pool.

“We have been working for 16 weeks towards a goal, which is this game,” Wales assistant coach and forwards specialist Humphreys said.

“We’ve tried lots of combinations out and a few different things. Those three (warm-up) games allowed us to do that.

“We are well aware this is the judgement time for us. We feel we are pretty well-prepared and we know what’s coming.

“Two words would be accurate and relentless in everything you do, on the field and off the field.”

Humphreys and his fellow Wales coaches were at Twickenham last month when Fiji claimed a famous 30-22 victory over England.

He added: “I was really impressed with them. They went behind early, came back at them (England) and they have got some incredibly powerful runners who are tough to stop.

“Physically, they are in incredible shape and they are going to be a tough, tough challenge for us.

“They have had five or six warm-up games, and the set-piece is a strength of theirs at the moment.

“We are well aware of what’s coming, we know hopefully what they are about and we have prepared for it.”

Wales boss Warren Gatland has reported a clean bill of health among the 33-strong World Cup squad after a number of players had been sidelined due to knocks.

That list included hookers Dewi Lake (knee) and Ryan Elias (hamstring), while star number eight Taulupe Faletau took no part in the warm-up schedule because of a calf muscle issue.

“In fairness to our medical staff, when they did pick up the injuries the return dates were spot-on really,” Humphreys said. “It has been good to have everyone available for selection.

“We are pretty confident in our ability and what we can achieve. It’s about going out there and doing it, and that is the point we are at right now.

“We are in a good spot. Everybody is a bit on edge, but in a good way, and training this morning was like that. It has been a long time getting here.”

The hot weather in France continues to be a major talking point, with tournament bosses understood to be considering implementing player drinks breaks during games.

Temperatures at Wales’ training base in Versailles have not dipped below 32 degrees this week, while Bordeaux is set to be even warmer.

Wales, though, feel ready for any eventuality, having prepared at punishing training camps in Switzerland and Turkey for the competition.

Prop Dillon Lewis said: “We spent a bit of time in Turkey where it was a fair bit warmer than here.

“It was quite good we got that in the bank early and it allows us to adapt to this a bit quicker, and not affect us as much as it could have done.”

Charlie Hills’ classy two-year-old Iberian is on track to line up in the Betfred Champagne Stakes during Doncaster’s St Leger Festival.

Owned by Teme Valley and Ballylinch Stud, the son of Lope De Vega created a taking impression when winning a Newbury novice event earlier in the summer and immediately had his sights raised to bigger and better things.

Although deteriorating ground ruled him out of a Superlative Stakes clash with Aidan O’Brien’s Classic hope City Of Troy, Iberian did get the chance to advertise his talents in Group Two company when second in the Vintage Stakes during the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

Inexperience took its toll as he chased home Richard Hannon’s Haatem for the silver medal on the Sussex Downs, but his handler is hopeful the exposure to a higher calibre contest will tee him up nicely for his next outing at that level on Town Moor.

“He’s been really good since Goodwood,” said Hills.

“He was probably just a little bit green on that ground and around that track. He just ran a bit in snatches but I’m sure that experience will bring him on a good bit.

“His work has been great since and he’s due to do a nice piece this week. Hopefully that will put him spot on for Doncaster next week.

“That race should suit him and better ground will help as well.”

Jose Altuve hit home runs in each of his first three plate appearances, Framber Valdez threw seven strong innings and the Houston Astros routed the Texas Rangers 14-1 Tuesday.

With the win and Seattle Mariners’ loss, the Astros pulled into sole possession of first place in the AL West for the first time this season.

Altuve hit all three of his homers in the first three innings, one-upping the two home runs he hit in Monday’s series opener. The 2017 AL MVP has five deep balls in the last two games after hitting just one in his previous 21 games.

Altuve’s first two round-trippers came against Nathan Eovaldi, who lasted just 1 1/3 innings in his return from a six-week stint on the injured list.

Martin Maldonado added two home runs for the Astros, and Yordan Alvarez hit one.

Valdez kept the Rangers’ bats quiet most of the night, allowing one run and six hits over seven innings.

Houston (79-61) have a two-game lead over Texas (76-62) in baseball’s closest division race. Seattle (77-61) sits between, one game back of the Astros.

Wednesday’s series finale features a matchup of three-time Cy Young Award winners when the Astros send Justin Verlander to the mound to face the Rangers’ Max Scherzer.

Stanton hits 400th HR, Yankees back to .500

Giancarlo Stanton scorched a line-drive for his 400th career home run and the New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 for their seventh win in their last eight games.

Stanton’s two-run blast off Jose Ciserno in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie and made him the 58th slugger to reach 400 home runs in a career.

Gerrit Cole produced another quality start, allowing one run and eight hits over six innings. Cole has bolstered his case for the AL Cy Young Award by winning each of his last three starts and dropping his season ERA to 2.90.

New York (69-69) got back to .500 with the win but remains in last place in the AL East and are 7 ½ games back of a wild card spot.

Reds rally late to edge Mariners

Nick Martini hit a game-tying three-run homer in the eighth inning, Christian Encarnacion-Strand delivered the winning RBI in the ninth and the Cincinnati Reds rallied for a 7-6 walk-off win over the Seattle Mariners.

The Reds trailed 6-3 with one out in the eighth before Martini came off the bench to tie the game with one swing. An inning later, Encarnacion-Strand’s single drove in Elly De La Cruz from second base.

Cincinnati survived a big night from Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez, who had two home runs and four RBIs. Teoscar Hernandez also went deep for the Mariners, giving him six homers in his last 10 games.

The dramatic win kept the Reds (73-68) slotted for the NL’s final wild card spot, remaining half a game ahead of the Miami Marlins.

Ireland star Josh van der Flier feels his team-mates have “long forgotten” about his status as World Player of the Year.

The Leinster flanker goes into the Rugby World Cup as the holder of the sport’s ultimate individual prize following a string of stellar performances across 2022.

Van der Flier was on the receiving end of some good-natured jibes in the aftermath of claiming the award ahead of Ireland captain Johnny Sexton, France skipper Antoine Dupont and South Africa’s Lukhanyo Am.

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The unassuming 30-year-old admits the recognition gives him further confidence to perform on the biggest stage but says the in-house references and ribbing have ceased.

“It’s long forgotten about now,” he said. “It’s kind of back to normal, I think.

“It was funny for the first while because I couldn’t do anything wrong because I’d just be slated for it.

“It’s normal enough now.

“I suppose if anything it (the award) gives you a bit of confidence, for me anyway, that I can play well at this level. That’s all I get from it now at this stage, I suppose.

“It was a great honour but it feels like a long time ago now.”

Van der Flier was only the third Irishman to receive the award following Keith Wood (2001) and Sexton (2018).

He backed it up by helping Ireland win the Guinness Six Nations grand slam and retain their spot at the top of the world rankings.

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“It’s a team sport and looking back it’s the success of the team that makes the individuals in a team look good or better,” he said.

“But it’s obviously nice to be in that position coming into a World Cup. You want to be playing your best rugby and hopefully I can try and do that now over the next few weeks.

“I am definitely incredibly excited to get going.”

Ireland begin their campaign on Saturday afternoon against Romania in Bordeaux ahead of further Pool B clashes with Tonga, reigning champions South Africa and Scotland.

Novak Djokovic broke yet another record as he reached the last four at the US Open.

The 36-year-old’s straight-sets win over Taylor Fritz saw him into the last four of a grand slam for the 47th time, overtaking Roger Federer’s tally.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff became the first American teenager since Serena Williams in 2001 to reach the semi-finals.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at day eight at Flushing Meadows:

Pic of the dayPerformance of the day

Gauff dropped just two games as she blitzed Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-2 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 19-year-old handed out a New York bagel in the first set to Latvian Ostapenko in only 20 minutes.

Quote of the dayStat of the daySong of the dayBrit watch

Defending champions Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram are into the semi-finals of the men’s doubles.

Salisbury and Ram won the opening set against Argentinian duo Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4 and came from 3-0 behind in the second by winning six games in a row.

Wimbledon boys’ champion Henry Searle lost in three sets to American Trevor Svajda in the second round of the juniors.

Fallen seeds

Women: Jelena Ostapenko (20), Sorana Cirstea (30).
Men: Taylor Fritz (9).

Who’s up next

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz takes on Alexander Zverev for a place in the semi-finals.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka faces surprise package Qinwen Zheng of China.

Kevin Sinfield has revealed Marcus Smith is still an option at full-back as England look to ignite their attack.

Harlequins fly-half Smith injected energy and creativity into England’s game when appearing as a second-half replacement in the World Cup warm-up fixtures against Ireland and Fiji.

Head coach Steve Borthwick on Thursday names his team to face Argentina in their crucial Pool D opener, with Smith under consideration as support for starting 15 Freddie Steward.

“Marcus is a magician with the ball – step off both feet, quick, can beat the opposition for fun,” defence coach Sinfield said.

“So why not try to give him a bit more time and space than he would typically get at 10, try to get him a little bit wider?

“We have been working on it for some weeks now with him in training. He’s been incredible at the back.

“He embraced it straight away. It was a question that was posed to him. Have you ever played 15? His first answer was ‘No, but I would love to’.

“It would be crazy of us to put Marcus in the team and not try to put the ball in his hands, and give him space to attack. He’s a different attacking threat to Fred.

“Fred is 6ft 4in and 105kg, so he brings a different threat to Marcus when he carries the ball.”

Jonny May has revealed that he confronted Steve Borthwick after his initial omission from England’s World Cup squad drew his “monkey out”.

May was told he would not be part of the 33 travelling to France in advance of the opening warm-up match against Wales in Cardiff yet would need to stay in camp for the three remaining fixtures.

The Gloucester wing was eventually offered his ticket over The Channel when Anthony Watson was ruled out of the tournament by a calf injury and he celebrated his return by touching down against Fiji.

It ended a rollercoaster month for England’s second highest try-scorer that began with him taking refuge in the gym when he had been given the bad news.

“The truth is that on the Monday before Wales, Steve spoke to me and said ‘as it currently stands you’re not playing at the weekend and aren’t in the 33’,” said the 33-year-old, whose son Jaxon was born in May.

“That got my monkey out, I’ll be honest. I was like ‘well what the hell am I doing here this week’. I felt like that in that moment. I’m not going and I’m not playing at the weekend, so why the hell am I here?

“I went to the gym for 10 minutes and then stomped back to him and said I need another chat.

“I said ‘I’m running this by you because maybe I don’t want to be here this week because why am I here? I’ve got my son at home’.

“He said he didn’t want me to go home because I’m next in and it doesn’t look good if you quit now and then have to be called back in.

“So I was like ‘fair enough, that was a good point’. And I’d done this much time now, just calm down and plough on with it. But that was my initial response.

“I was disappointed because I expressed in week one I wanted a game and an opportunity to play.

“It looked like I wasn’t going to get that and I felt like I’d worked hard and played well and trained well. I really wanted it.

“There’s no right or wrong way to tell somebody they’re not in the team and I understand that from Steve’s part. I reacted angrily but rationally.

“I didn’t scream and shout at him, but I’m glad I stayed and then the opportunity came to stay and train and then I calmed down.

“Then I looked at the bigger picture – I’ve done eight weeks away from home, what’s the harm in three more, trying to get a game and hang on in there?

“Then I’d have felt better than if I hadn’t, knowing I’d given it every possible chance.”

May has returned at a troubled time for England as they enter their pivotal World Cup opener against Argentina on the back of a dismal run of form that has produced five defeats in six Tests.

It means the Pumas are rated marginal favourites to triumph in Marseille on Saturday – a position May insists is being embraced by Borthwick’s squad.

“This time, we’re definitely underdogs. We’re still finding our way, we’re still finding our team, we’re still discovering ourselves,” May said.

“People would think Argentina are favourites for the game. People look at us as underdogs and I think people have written us off a little bit.

“We’re embracing that within this group and paying it as much attention as each person wants to, but ultimately focussing on what we’ve got to do, getting tighter as a group and believing a bit more each day.”

Novak Djokovic kept his cool in the New York heat to reach the semi-finals of the US Open and break yet another record.

The ice-cold Serbian is through to the last four of a grand slam for the 47th time, moving him one ahead of Roger Federer’s tally, after a 6-1 6-4 6-4 win over Taylor Fritz.

The roof was half-closed on Arthur Ashe to shield the players from the 90 degree temperatures amid energy-sapping humidity at Flushing Meadows.

American Fritz has been red hot all fortnight, not dropping a single set on his way to the last 16, but he was ruthlessly extinguished by the 23-time grand slam champion.

A demoralised Fritz has now lost all eight matches he has played against Djokovic.

The ninth seed hit more winners – 33 to Djokovic’s 25 – but he was simply ground down by the 36-year-old with a grand total of 51 unforced errors telling its own story.

He also forced 12 break points but converted only two of them, the second of which levelled the third set at 4-4 and prompted Djokovic to shoo some of his own supporters out of one of the executive suites.

But Djokovic immediately hit back, the three-time winner then saving another break point before completing the victory in two hours and 35 minutes to silence a partisan American crowd.

Djokovic said: “It’s expected that people are backing the home player, there’s nothing wrong with that. I like the atmosphere here, I’m fine with that and I thrive on that energy.

“I’ve been playing on this court for many years, played many epic matches, and I’m looking forward to another one in a few days.

“It’s a huge opportunity every time I step out on the court and at my age I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll get.”

The defending Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs open the 2023 NFL season against the Detroit Lions on Thursday, and it's uncertain if All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce will be able to play.

Kelce hyperextended his knee during Tuesday's practice, putting his status in doubt for Week 1.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid did not provide any details about how the injury occurred during Kansas City's final practice ahead of the season opener.

Kelce has not missed a game to injury since his 2013 rookie season and has been indispensable to Kansas City's offense as Patrick Mahomes' favourite target.

Near the goal line, he is Mahomes' go-to receiver, as no player was targeted more in the red zone last season than Kelce with 30.

Widely considered the top tight end in the NFL, the 33-year-old caught a career-high 110 passes for 1,338 yards in 2022, his seventh straight season eclipsing 1,000 yards receiving. He also caught a career-best 12 touchdowns last season, giving him 69 in his career.

In Kansas City's march to the Super Bowl, he caught 27 passes for 257 yards with four touchdowns in three playoff games. He had six receptions for 81 yards with a TD in the Super Bowl.

Should he be forced to sit out, that could spell trouble for Kansas City given his familiarity with Mahomes and the fact the Chiefs are introducing several new receivers this year.

Noah Gray, who is listed as Kelce's backup on the depth chart, had 28 catches for 299 yards with a TD for the Chiefs last season.

The Chiefs are hopeful of having Kadarius Toney available for the opener after the wide receiver missed nearly all of training camp with a torn meniscus in his knee.

The Kansas City defense, however, will likely be without Chris Jones as the All-Pro defensive tackle has been holding out while trying to get a long-term contract.

Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park is determined to make the most of his maiden World Cup following his unconventional late rise to Test-level rugby.

New Zealand-born star Gibson-Park was barely on the international radar at the time of the 2019 tournament in Japan, having only just qualified for his adopted nation on residency grounds.

The 31-year-old Leinster player, who represented the Maori All Blacks eight times between 2012 and 2015, had to wait a further year to be handed his debut by head coach Andy Farrell.

He immediately set his sights on a World Cup spot and quickly surpassed Conor Murray as Ireland’s first-choice number nine.

“It will be pretty awesome to get out there and have a run,” said Gibson-Park.

“Obviously a bit of a late bloomer – 31 at my first World Cup. It’s the pinnacle of rugby and you like to test yourself in the toughest environments. I’m looking forward to it.

“As soon as I was in the squad (I was thinking about the World Cup). As a player it’s always something you’re going to target.”

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Gibson-Park gained traction on social media this week by landing an audacious basketball shot from the roof of the team hotel, which was recorded and posted by team-mate Mack Hansen.

Asked how many takes it took, he replied: “The first one, obviously!

“We were there for a while, to be fair. Just messing on Sunday, trying to come up with stuff to do in the hotel and stay out of the heat. A bit of craic.”

Ireland begin their Pool B campaign on Saturday afternoon against Romania in Bordeaux, where Gibson-Park is expected to partner returning captain Johnny Sexton.

Veteran fly-half Sexton is poised for his first competitive appearance in almost six months, having missed Ireland’s three warm-up games through suspension on the back of a groin injury.

“He’s buzzing as you can imagine,” Gibson-Park said of his provincial team-mate.

“He’s been great. Seamlessly back into training like he always does. It will be good to see him back out there.”