Preview - England v Uruguay

Tough challenge for Los Teros

Hopeful that their stint as the pantomime villains of the World Cup is well and truly over, England - some £10,000 lighter in the pocket - will be desperate to draw a line under the week's events and get their tournament campaign back on track.

Opposition supporters have had a field day poking fun at the men in white since their admission that they fielded 16 men during the dying seconds of the Samoa match and you can be sure that England will be treading very carefully where touchline etiquette is concerned throughout this match - and the rest of the tournament - though it is unlikely that they will need more than the standard 15 players to inflict heavy defeat on Uruguay.

For a measure of the ease with which England expect to despatch their South American opponents, coach Clive Woodward has even left out key man Jonny Wilkinson from the squad, which is rather akin to staging a Rolling Stones concert without Mick Jagger.

Deputising for the boy wonder is Paul Grayson, a hugely experienced player who may lack JW's box-office appeal, but will undoubtedly give England the requisite direction in what England hope will be a straight-forward victory.

Indeed, Clive Woodward has retained just five players from the team that beat South Africa, giving some of the lesser-spotted members of the squad a run-out.

Notably, there is a first appearance for second rower Danny Grewcock, who has spent the past three weeks nursing the broken toe he sustained prior to the Georgia game.

There is also a starting berth for Mike Catt - his first for two years - the suprise addition to the squad likely to have a major impact on proceedings.

Named at inside centre, Catt will be a key man in England's attempts to spread the ball wide where Los Teros are at their weakest.

As for Uruguay, having won their 'battle of the minnows' clash against Georgia, damage limitation will be the name of the day on Sunday.

Coach Diego Oramachea's men will no doubt be eager to test themselves against one of the best teams in world rugby, to see just how different life is at the top of the Zurich World Rankings.

It could be a very long 80 minutes in such rarefied air.

Players to watch:

For England: While a big performance is expected from the England pack, it is the backline which is likely to do most of the damage in this encounter. Leading the way will be inside centre Mike Catt, who would want to make the most of this match after a lengthy absence from England's starting line-up.

For Uruguay: Diego Aguirre will have his hands full trying to cope with a fairly potent England attack but will hope to do some damage of his own with the boot. Meanwhile, 20-stone prop Pablo Lemoine has experience of top-class English rugby and will relish the chance to test himself against Jason Leonard.

Head to head: Dorian West (England) v Diego Lamelas (Uruguay): A veritable clash of the heavyweights with the two barrel-like No.2s at the heart of their respective packs. West boasts a wealth of experience and will be eager to impress in what could be his last start for England. Lamelas, a try-scorer against Georgia, has been one of Los Teros most consistent players and will battle until the end.

Recent Results:
No previous Tests between the two nations

Prediction: Absolutely no chance of England not winning this match, so the only question remaining surrounds exactly how many point they will rack up. The computer says 102, but we'll scale that down and give the doughty Uruguayans the benefit of the doubt.
Zurich Computer prediction: England by 102 points.
Planet Rugby prediction: England by 80 points.
SportingOdds.com prediction: England by 76 points.

The teams:

England: 15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Iain Balshaw, 13 Stuart Abbott, 12 Mike Catt, 11 Dan Luger, 10 Paul Grayson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Martin Corry, 4 Danny Grewcock, 3 Phil Vickery (captain), 2 Dorian West, 1 Jason Leonard.
Replacements: 16 Steve Thompson, 17 Julian White, 18 Martin Johnson, 19 Ben Kay, 20 Kyran Bracken, 21 Will Greenwood, 22 Jason Robinson.

Uruguay: 15 Juan Menchaca, 14 Joaquin Pastore, 13 Diego Aguirre (captain), 12 Joaquin De Freitas, 11 Jose Viana, 10 Sebastian Aguirre, 9 Juan Campomar, 8 Rodrigo Capo, 7 Nicolas Grille, 6 Nicolas Brignoni, 5 Juan Miguel Alvarez, 4 Juan Carlos Bado, 3 Pablo Lemoine, 2 Diego Lamelas, 1 Eduardo Berruti.
Replacements: 16 Juan Andres Perez, 17 Rodrigo Sanchez, 18 Guillermo Storace, 19 Juan Alzueta, 20 Marcelo Gutierrez, 21 Emiliano Caffera, 22 Diego Reyes.

Kick-off: 17.30 local time (07.30 GMT), Live in the UK on ITV2
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Weather: Maximum: 29°C, Minimum: 16°C
Referee: Nigel Williams
Touch judges: Stuart Dickinson and Nigel Whitehouse
TMO: Joel Dume

By Justin O'Regan