Argentina v England preview: ‘Hungry and highly motivated’ vis...

When Argentina resumes fighting against a confident England team on Saturday in what should be an exciting match in San Juan,

they will be desperate to win.

Los Pumas’ desperation is a result of their subpar performance in the match last weekend at La Plata, where they lost 35–12 despite

finishing second in most areas.

The host team had their tails up before that Test after defeating the British & Irish Lions by a shocking 28–24 margin ahead of the

renowned touring team’s trip to Australia, hence that outcome was unexpected.

Los Pumas have improved significantly under head coach Felipe Contepomi’s direction, and they demonstrated their class by

defeating South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia in the Rugby Championship last year after he took over as coach.

Given that their opponents were missing 14 of their starting players from the British & Irish Lions tour in Australia, Argentina’s loss to

England in the first Test match will be viewed as a blow.

On the other hand, England’s head coach Steve Borthwick and his team should take a lot of pride in the victory because they were

superior in most areas and it was ultimately rather convincing.

Borthwick will have greatly benefited from another victory over Los Pumas, as he would have made significant progress in increasing

the depth of his team.

They will have momentum going into the final Test of their summer tour against the United States on July 19 in Washington, D.C., if

they accomplish that goal, which would mean they have won 11 of their previous 12 Test matches against Argentina.

Where the game will be won

Just like last week’s first Test, this will be a battle of contrasting styles, with the home side relying on an expansive style of play while

their opponents will be more structured in their approach. Like most games, the forward battle will be huge, especially in the set-

pieces, where the Red Rose will be hoping to build on last weekend’s performance while Los Pumas will be determined to show

considerable improvement.

Although controlling the forward exchanges will give their backs a strong foundation, gaining the upper hand in that area of play is not

the only important factor in winning. Gaining an advantage at the front is only half the fight won, and the one with the advantage must

exploit every opportunity to gain possession. A team should win if they have the majority of the possession and play a strong attacking

game in the appropriate parts of the field. Excellent game management will also be essential.

Borthwick has stuck with the team that started in La Plata following last week’s thrilling triumph, making just one injury-forced

substitution: Luke Northmore, who will make his first England start in place of Henry Slade.