OUR WRITERS PICK THEIR ENGLAND TEAMS TO FACE ARGENTINA
England’s winning run stretched to 10 matches against the All Blacks and now Steve Borthwick’s side have the chance to complete an autumn clean-sweep against Argentina this weekend.
Borthwick must decide whether to stick with the side that beat New Zealand or freshen things up at the end of a physically taxing campaign.
Here, Telegraph Sport’s rugby writers select the England team they would like to see take on Argentina on Sunday.
Chessum returns... if fit
Tweaking from a position of strength is exactly where England want to be. There is a strong argument to stick with the same 23, but if Ollie Chessum is fit, he comes into the second row.
The return to fitness of Elliot Daly gives Steve Borthwick another option, and it is worth using the final game of the autumn to see the impact he can have as a second distributor. A tough call on Freddie Steward, but Marcus Smith impressed against the All Blacks.
Fixing England’s line-out woes
Just a handful of changes – one of which is Chessum returning if fit – which is quite the luxury after facing the All Blacks. I’d promote the Leicester lock alongside Tom Curry to the starting XV in order to ease the line-out woes. Guy Pepper has not put a foot wrong and will still have a crucial role to play off the bench.
Marcus Smith continues after impressing at full-back with Elliot Daly coming onto the bench, if fit. Freddie Steward looked sharp in the opening exchanges against New Zealand but Argentina’s threat will not be primarily aerial.
Time to freshen things up
Some tweaks on what is becoming a familiar template, here. I have retained the back-line that played most of the game against the All Blacks with Marcus Smith starting at full-back. Daly returns on the bench in the number 23 shirt that suits his versatility so well.
I have freshened up the pack somewhat, handing a first Test start to Pollock at the base of the scrum and shifting Pepper to openside flanker to accommodate Curry. The front rows are switched as well. Given what Baxter and Heyes did to the Pumas set-piece over the summer, they should be confident of engineering a half-hour of power at the end.
I worry about Smith against Argentina
No need to rock the boat massively against a hugely dangerous Argentina team. Freddie Steward’s likely absence creates a vacancy in the No 15 shirt and while Marcus Smith was excellent in relief there against New Zealand, I do worry about Argentina’s spring-heeled wingers going after him, so Elliot Daly comes back in.
Sam Underhill swaps with Tom Curry to ensure there is still a wise old head coming off the bench. I have also swapped the front rows around and I think this is a really prudent strategy to maintain a 1a and 1b combination. It means the scrum remains a constant 80-minute weapon.
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