England brilliance in Argentina gives Steve Borthwick problem to solve and ignites World Cup dream

England brilliance in Argentina gives Steve Borthwick problem to solve and ignites World Cup dream

Guy Pepper’s late try clinched a spectacular series triumph over Los Pumas, adding to Borthwick’s embarrassment of back-row riches.

It looks like England is headed for bigger things.

A squad from England came to Argentina eight years ago and, in spite of the odds, won a 2-0 series before making it to the Rugby

World Cup final.

Although Steve Borthwick’s team has a long way to go before they can hope to emulate the class of 2019, Jack van Poortvliet’s late

attempt made sure they met the first of those goals.

Guy Pepper, another replacement, brilliantly set up the Leicester Tigers scrum half, who came off the bench to steal a 22–17 victory

over Los Pumas in San Juan.

It’s unclear how Borthwick handles his wealth in the back row, but the recent Premiership winner has demonstrated that he deserves

to be discussed with Sam Underhill, the Curry brothers, Ben Earl, and Henry Pollock—and those are only the openside flankers.

After making their debuts against Los Pumas in 2017, Underhill and Tom Curry led England to the World Cup final in Japan two years

later.

It’s unclear how Borthwick handles his wealth in the back row, but the recent Premiership winner has demonstrated that he deserves

to be discussed with Sam Underhill, the Curry brothers, Ben Earl, and Henry Pollock—and those are only the openside flankers.

After making their debuts against Los Pumas in 2017, Underhill and Tom Curry led England to the World Cup final in Japan two years

later.

Although England didn’t have it all their own way in San Juan, there would have been regrets if the match had ended in a tie, as it

appeared to be going into the last few minutes.

Before Van Poortvliet’s late goal, the second half was played almost entirely in Argentina territory, with only one penalty from George

Ford to show for it.

Ford acknowledged that he was leading England alone after co-captain Jamie George abruptly withdrew following his Lions call-up.

“In the end, we found a way,” he stated. I’m pleased of the boys because we had a number of chances in the 22 but were unable to cross

the finish line. I enjoy our arguments, our unity, and our displays of concern. We should have scored more tries, but there was some

excellent stuff, and the team has a fantastic mentality.

England had made two changes to the team that triumphed 35-12 in La Plata, with Luke Northmore given a debut in place of the

injured Henry Slade at outside centre, and Theo Dan promoted to starting hooker duty late on for George, with Curtis Langdon

coming onto the bench for his first cap in four years.

After just four minutes, Seb Atkinson scored his maiden Test try, indicating that they were unfazed by the interruption. The

opportunity was generated by a Ford cross-kick to Tom Roebuck. He discovered that England was ahead after Northmore fed his

midfield partner.

Before Ben Curry was sent off for a shoulder to Pablo Matera’s head, earning his 111th cap and making him Argentina’s most-capped

player, Santiago Carreras scored a long-range penalty from 45 meters out on the angle to put the home team ahead.

With bustling scrum-half Simon Benitez Cruz throwing in Lucio Cinti, who caught the eye on his first Test start, Argentina scored one

goal without Curry and had a chance for more.

England regained control at the same time Curry returned, with Ford and Will Muir teaming up to put Freddie Steward over for their

second try.

However, Argentina took the lead again just before halftime when Ignacio Mendy dotted down after Carreras’s speculative chip kick

had a nice bounce. That put them ahead 17–14.

England’s maul gave them control of the second half after they had caused serious damage at scrum-time in the first, but they

repeatedly wasted opportunities to open the game.

Given their degree of dominance, a Ford penalty brought them level but offered little compensation. England was unable to capitalise

even after Matera was sent to the sin-bin following the most recent maul penalty.

That is, until Pepper grabbed a ball close to the midway line and sprinted down the left, evading tacklers and then feeding Van

Poortvliet to win the game.

Borthwick’s decisions begin now, and he will have another opportunity to offer his young players international playing time when they

play the USA in Washington, DC, next weekend.

But in November, when everyone is free, he will be faced with the most palatable of selection conundrums.

Read more news on https://www.sportupdates.co.uk/