James Haskell has promised that whatever the outward appearance of the 'stiff upper lip' Englishman there will be no lack of passion from Martin Johnson's men when they begin their World Cup campaign against Argentina.

Openside flank Haskell, playing in the absence of injured England captain Lewis Moody, is well aware of the emotion that stirs Argentina rugby having been teammates with several of their players at French club Stade Francais.

"Sometimes they are more expressive, whereas the Anglo-Saxon mentality is a bit more closed not so outwardly passionate but we pride ourselves on our passion as an English team," Haskell told reporters on Friday.

"If you look at the team around us, every time I come out I feel privileged to be with the guys in an England shirt because there's so much talent," he said.

Haskell, who next season will join Japanese side Ricoh Black Rams, added: "I've played with a number of their (Argentina) forwards at Stade Francais, (Rodrigo) Roncero, (Juan Manuel) Leguizamon.

"If you come to a World Cup and you are not ready for the physical challenge, there's no point being here. We know what Argentina is about, they are very passionate but so are we," he added.

Mike Tindall, who will captain England on Saturday, said being in Dunedin had been the ideal pre-tournament venue.

"Dunedin has been the greatest place because it hasn't felt like we've been chucked into a World Cup, it hasn't stuck loads of pressure onto people who haven't been to a World Cup before," the centre explained.

"It's been an ideal start for us," added Tindall, one of three survivors along with flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson and hooker Steve Thompson from the England team captained by current manager Johnson that won the 2003 World Cup.

Argentina may only have played one Test in 11 months, a 28-13 defeat by Wales in August but that didn't stop England engaging in what Tindall said was a "lively" training session on Thursday.

"It was just getting people's minds switched on to what Argentina bring," Tindall explained. "We know how good they can be if you let them. It's getting that mental side switched on.

"The key thing is we know how strong Argentina are going to be over the ball at breakdown time. It's about getting our clarity and getting our clean ball. We tried to replicate it (the game situation) a little bit.

The veteran centre said the big challenge was to convert that intensity at training into a competitive performance in the actual match itself.

He commented: "Everything's been so sharp (in training). Hopefully, it doesn't get left on the training field. We know how good Argentina can be, how strong their pack can be, how good (Felipe) Contepomi can be if you let him play around.

"They are all good players. If you don't respect them they can make a fool of you. We're under no illusions about that," said Tindall.

AFP