Courtney Lawes and suspended Owen Farrell take part in England captain’s run as Steve Borthwick’s side begin their final preparations before Saturday’s Rugby World Cup opener against Argentina

England began their final preparations for their Rugby World Cup opener, with substitute skipper Courtney Lawes and Owen Farrell both present in Marseille.

England will start their campaign against Argentina on Saturday, with Lawes filling in for the suspended Farrell, after his red card ban was reinstated by World Rugby prior to the competition.

In the captain’s run, the game’s captain leads the session, rather than head coach Steve Borthwick, and takes place at a time determined by the team prior to the game, usually for about an hour.

England are coming into the competition on a desperate form that has seen pressure build on Borthwick’s shoulders, although the former Leicester Tigers coach insists he pays no heed to outside noises.

He named a surprise squad for the game against the Pumas, handing the starts to both Jonny May and Alex Mitchell – neither of whom were even included in the original 33-man roster.

Photos emerged from the training session showing the squad trying their hardest, with Farrell still present despite not being able to participate in the crunch opener.

But it was Lawes who will be in charge at Marseille, and he was spotted watching closely proceedings with young fly-half Marcus Smith.

The team were all smiling, despite the pressure of their opening match coming up, and clearly enjoying the occasion, with several of them taking part in their first ever World Cup.

Even Farrell didn’t seem too perturbed by the fact that he would sit out the collision. The front platoon was spotted with quick hands and passing drills.

Manu Tuilagi – who will start at age 12 – enjoyed participating in the session. He seemingly practiced running on the ball at a pace that England hopes he can do with high impact by punching a hole in Argentina’s defense line on Saturday.

Among the entrants was Tom Curry, who returns straight to the back row despite being out for three months with an injury.

Although he was not in charge of the session, Borthwick was still there to keep a close eye on his accusations.

England’s meeting with Argentina is the first of four group stage matches and will take place in Marseille at 8pm on Saturday, ahead of next month’s clashes with Japan, Chile and Samoa.

It is a relatively experienced squad that will take on the Pumas, with seasoned veteran Dan Cole also coming in for a surprise start.

Cole will be playing in his fourth Rugby World Cup, starting on the front row with Vice-Captain Ellis Genge on either side of Jamie George, in front of the locks Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum, and a back row Lawes, Curry and Ben Earl complete the suit.

May, Elliot Daly and Freddie Steward make up the back three, Tuilagi starts at age 13 with Joe Marchant at age 13, and Mitchell becomes the England halfback combination with George Ford.

And Borthwick has plenty of experience on a bench with 282 caps, with Danny Care and Joe Marler both playing more than 80 times for their country.