Graham Rowntree, the England forwards coach, has warned his pack Argentina will attempt to grind them into submission at the set-piece, which they view as their key weapon.

While scrums against other teams last in the region of six seconds, against Argentina a further 2½ seconds elapse before the ball is released.

Dan Cole, the England tighthead, has been given an insight into Argentina's mentality through Leicester team-mate Marcos Ayerza, the respected loosehead he must subdue in the international.

"They want to scrum you out. They want to wear you out and take you on there," Cole said. "They pride themselves on the scrum. They pride themselves on the gentlemanly way of pushing you backwards for a long period of time.

"Argentina try to outlast you and wait for a team to give up. They are there, static, waiting for someone to move. As soon as someone does that and it's in the wrong direction, that's when there is a crack and that's what they'll exploit. It wears you out."