Predicted England team v Argentina: ‘Time is now’ to unleash Henry Pollock while Los Pumas clash a ‘golden chance’ to start Benhard Janse van Rensburg
Steve Borthwick (right) could start both Henry Pollock (centre) and Benhard Janse van Rensburg (left) this weekend against Argentina
Ahead of England’s Test against Argentina on Saturday, here is how we think Steve Borthwick’s side will line up at Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero.
Borthwick’s men have ended their five-Test losing run with a resounding 73-8 win over Fiji at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, timely when you consider the pressure on the head coach following England’s defeat to the Springboks, but it leaves him with some big selection calls ahead of their trip to South America.
The victory on Merseyside was not without its issues, namely the injury to Alex Mitchell which forced Marcus Smith to scrum-half and Henry Slade to full-back, and that could force Borthwick to stick with a 5:3 bench rather than his preferred 6:2 option to take on Los Pumas. There are also the overarching questions over Henry Pollock and Benhard Janse van Rensburg coming into the starting XV to contend with, with both men making try-scoring cameos last time out.
Fiji were also far below the levels we have come to expect of them in recent months, just look at the Test between the sides back in November in comparison, but Argentina come into this one with a real point to prove after a mixed Nations Championship campaign of their own with one win and one defeat to their name at the time of writing.
Limited changes?
You feel there won’t be too many changes to England’s starting backline this weekend, but the key one could very easily come in midfield, with Janse van Rensburg very much an option to start. While this might be a tad harsh on Seb Atkinson, who went pretty well against Fiji all told, this does seem to be a golden chance for Borthwick to bring his shiny new toy into his starting XV and properly test him at this level.
His strike-running ability and desire to truck hard and straight just seems to perfectly counterbalance that of his likely centre partner Henry Slade, with the Exeter man very much a fan of kicking on the out and taking the slightly wider channel, all while adding a nice lick of playmaking flair to proceedings as well.
Around that, though, will likely be minimal disruption. Marcus Smith should again start at 15 with Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso joining him in the back-three. The aforementioned Slade should also keep his shirt at 13, with Fin Smith and Jack van Poortvliet also in line to start again following impressive displays, both personal and as a unit, against Fiji.
The bench selection is where things get a bit interesting in the backline. Borthwick has traditionally opted for a 6:2 split among his replacements, with Ben Earl sliding back into midfield if needed, but Saturday’s disruption here could see him stick to the 5:3 selection once more. Given England have already had to shift M. Smith back to full-back full-time, it also makes a bit more sense to have that extra insurance option within the replacements.
With that in mind, it would seem likely Borthwick opts for a similar vibe to last weekend, too. The injury to Mitchell creates a gap which could be filled by Ben Spencer, albeit with Raffi Quirke back in the picture too, while Atkinson could also be a direct swap with Janse van Rensburg and take up a place on the bench. Noah Caluori’s try-scoring cameo could also see him retain his place on the replacements list, but he will have competition from the likes of Tom Roebuck.
Pollock time
The time is now for Pollock to come into the starting side, isn’t it? He arguably stole the show when coming off the bench against Fiji, grabbing a fine hat-trick and ending the day with 75 metres from just four carries, two linebreaks, five defenders beaten and a turnover in the process, and that should give Borthwick serious food for thought looking towards Los Pumas.
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Pollock’s game-breaking quality and genuine ability to roam around the park does require a bit more balance around him, but England do now have that with Ollie Chessum at blindside flank. Where Pollock plays is potentially irrelevant in some ways, given he can chop and change between openside flank and number eight, which in itself points to Earl retaining a starting shirt and Guy Pepper coming off the bench.
The combination of Pollock and Earl gives England two genuine carriers of the ball, particularly in the tight, and that will be so crucial against Argentina’s strong back-row unit.
Elsewhere, the pack should remain pretty stable following on from the Fiji victory, with Alex Coles, George Martin, Joe Heyes, Jamie George and Ellis Genge all likely to start once more.
As mentioned above, the return to a 5:3 split does throw up some questions over Borthwick’s bench and what combination of forwards he uses. It does seem likely that he will continue with no lock on the bench, given Chessum can very easily go the distance, which should see Tom Curry and Pepper get the nod, while Luke Cowan-Dickie is the probable hooker replacement as well.
The prop choices are very interesting, though, with it likely coming down to how Borthwick wants to use Asher Opoku-Fordjour. If he wants to play him at loosehead, George Kloska could continue as the tighthead replacement or even hand Vilikesa Sela his debut, but moving the Sale man back to tighthead does open the door for Emmanuel Iyogun to get his long-awaited Test cap.
Opoku-Fordjour’s recent experience against Los Pumas as a tighthead, coming off the bench in England’s three previous Tests against them in the past 12 months, and his inclusion here against the Springboks, suggests Borthwick could go with the latter option of picking him as the number 18 and bringing Iyogun into the mix. That will also slightly extend the loosehead depth chart and allow the England boss to see yet another option have a go at this level.
Greg Fisilau remains a real contender for the bench, and should Borthwick opt to go back to a 6:2 split it is very likely he will feature.
England predicted team in full
Starting XV: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 George Martin, 4 Alex Coles, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Tom Curry, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Seb Atkinson, 23 Noah Caluori
