Preview: England v Uruguay
An event that started with such high hopes for coach Stuart Lancaster's side has seen England become the first tournament hosts to fail to reach the knockout stages after successive 'Pool of Death' defeats by Wales and Australia respectively.
For England's Rugby Football Union, the sport's wealthiest national governing body and blessed with one of the game's largest playing bases, the word "disappointing" doesn't do justice to the scale of the reverse.
It has all left Lancaster, whose contract was controversially extended to 2020 last year, battling to save his job amidst suggestions that, for all his acknowledged decency, his lack of top-flight experience meant he was lucky to get the role after Martin Johnson quit following the "debacle" of England's quarter-final exit in New Zealand four years ago.
Anything less than a thumping win over Uruguay, a largely amateur side, threatens to add humiliation to the embarrassment of England's early exit.
"After two defeats on the bounce it's taken some work to get everybody back in the right place," said Lancaster, who has had the unpleasant experience of hearing his competence called into question in a series of ever more excruciating press conferences.
Lancaster has made several changes to his side but the fact that he is only now giving centre Henry Slade his first appearance of the tournament, will be seen as more damning evidence by his detractors of the coach's misguided preference for power over skill.
Equally beleaguered England captain Chris Robshaw, whose lack of effectiveness as a back-row forward at the breakdown has been contrasted unfavourably with the likes of Australia's David Pocock and Michael Hooper, continues to skipper the side.
"We're very much focused on the here and now. I'll address questions about my role in the next couple of weeks," said Robshaw in what appeared to be an acknowledgement his time as England skipper, having been appointed to the post by Lancaster, is coming to an end.
Saturday's match had been planned as a chance to showcase the sport in the north of England, once a stronghold of the 15-man game but now more associated with football and league.
But former league star Sam Burgess, whose inclusion in the World Cup squad as a centre after barely 10 months in union and one Test appearance was arguably the most controversial selection decision yet taken by Lancaster, isn't even on the bench.
"This is an opportunity for us to finish the tournament with a strong performance against Uruguay. We owe it to ourselves and the supporters who have been brilliant throughout.
"This is an important game for rugby in the north of England and we want to give those people who have been looking forward to this game, something to cheer about," added Lancaster.
Players to watch:
For England: Centre Henry Slade will want to prove he should have been playing in all the matches while Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell will be both be eyeing a few points. This may be Chris Robshaw's final match in charge of the national side while their standout player from their previous match, Joe Launchbury will want to continue his good form.
For Uruguay: Felipe Berchesi has been handed a starting role at flyhalf, so it would be interesting to see how he goes about his business. All eyes, though, will be on their tight five to see how they standup to the challenge.
Head to head: The set-pieces will definitely be a focus point, especially after England was dominated in the scrums in their previous match while Uruguay are no pushovers either.
Recent results:
2003: England won 111-13, Brisbane (WC pool match)
Prediction: Uruguay will once again put their bodies on the line and play with plenty of passion. England, on the other hand, will want to bow out of the competition on a high note and restore some pride . England should claim a convincing win by about 45 points.
Teams:
England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 James Haskell, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 David Wilson, 19 George Kruis, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Mike Brown.
Uruguay: 15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Santiago Gibernau, 13 Joaquin Prada, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Rodrigo Silva, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Agustin Ormaechea, 8 Alejandro Nieto, 7 Matias Beer, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara, 5 Jorge Zerbino, 4 Santiago Vilaseca (captain), 3 Mario Sagario, 2 Carlos Arboleya, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti.
Replacements: 16 Nicolas Klappenbach, 17 Oscar Duran, 18 Alejo Corral, 19 Mathias Palomeque, 20 Diego Magno, 21 Agustin Alonso, 22 Alejo Duran, 23 Manuel Blengio.
Date: Saturday, October 10
Venue: Manchester City Stadium, Manchester
Kick-off: 20.00 (19.00 GMT, 16.00 Uruguay time)
Expected weather: A slight breeze can be expected with cloudy overhead conditions and a temperature of 12
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)
