England head coach Steve Borthwick has opted for continuity, naming an unchanged starting fifteen for Saturday's highly anticipated Nations Championship showdown against Argentina in Santiago del Estero.
Despite a sensational performance off the bench last week, Northampton back-row sensation Henry Pollock will once again start among the replacements. The 21-year-old turned heads in Liverpool by scoring a stunning hat-trick of tries in just 32 minutes during England's dominant 73-8 victory over Fiji. Pollock's explosive display led to widespread calls from several former England internationals, including rugby legend Jeremy Guscott, for the youngster to be promoted to the starting lineup ahead of Ben Earl at No. 8. However, Borthwick has chosen to reward the starting unit that got the job done so convincingly last weekend.
In the midfield, the partnership of Seb Atkinson and Henry Slade is retained, while Benhard Janse van Rensburg, who made his international debut last week, continues to provide cover from the bench.
The only adjustments to England's matchday 23 are among the replacements. Scrum-half Ben Spencer returns to the squad to replace Alex Mitchell, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury. Additionally, Emmanuel Iyogun is preferred on the bench ahead of George Kloska.
England will be looking to build positive momentum as they conclude the July leg of the tournament. After suffering a heavy 45-21 defeat to world champions South Africa in their opener, England bounced back in style with an 11-try rout of Fiji, snapping a five-match losing streak. Meanwhile, Argentina's campaign has been a mixed bag, starting with a surprising 47-38 home defeat to Scotland before recovering with a 35-21 victory over Wales last week.
"We expect a fantastic atmosphere with passionate home support," Borthwick remarked. "It promises to be a great occasion and one the players are excited to embrace."
England Lineup (15-1):
Marcus Smith; Tommy Freeman, Henry Slade, Seb Atkinson, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso; Fin Smith, Jack van Poortvliet; Ben Earl, Guy Pepper, Ollie Chessum; George Martin, Alex Coles; Joe Heyes, Jamie George (capt), Ellis Genge.
Replacements:
Luke Cowan-Dickie, Emmanuel Iyogun, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock, Ben Spencer, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Noah Caluori.
By Marry Sporttex
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