Steve Borthwick’s side are out in Argentina and will take on the Pumas in La Plata
England begin their summer tour with a challenging first Test against Argentina in La Plata on Saturday evening, as Steve Borthwick’s youthful and experimental squad look to make their mark in the absence of several senior stars.
With 12 players away on British & Irish Lions duty and a host of others sidelined through injury, Borthwick is fielding a much-changed England side for a three-match series that includes back-to-back Tests against the Pumas before a one-off fixture against the USA in Washington, D.C.
The tourists head into this weekend’s clash looking to bounce back from a narrow 26-24 loss to a France XV in an uncapped warm-up match at Twickenham last month, where several new faces made promising starts in an eventful encounter.
They now face a daunting task against a resurgent Argentina side ranked No.5 in the world—one place above England—who stunned the Lions 28-24 in their historic 1888 Cup win in Dublin in June and recorded victories over South Africa, New Zealand, France and Australia in 2024.
Here are all the details…
Argentina vs England kick-off time
Argentina vs England will take place on Saturday, July 5. The match will take place at Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi in La Plata, Argentina.
The match will kick off at 3.40pm local time, which is 8.40pm UK time.
How to watch Argentina v England
TV: The match will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Action, with coverage from 7:40pm BST.
Streaming: Subscribers can also watch online via the Sky Go app or stream through NOW.
Team news
George Ford and Jamie George will once again co-captain England, with Ford becoming just the eighth men’s player to win 100 caps for the national side.
Gloucester centre Seb Atkinson and Bath winger Will Muir both make their full international debuts, while Muir’s club team-mate Guy Pepper is set to earn his first cap from the bench.
Notable absentees include Maro Itoje, Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell and Tom Curry, all away with the Lions, while Elliot Daly misses out through injury after suffering a fractured forearm in Australia.
Owen Farrell has been drafted into the Lions squad but will not feature this weekend as he continues to reintegrate following his international hiatus.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is also unavailable until the USA match after serving a two-game suspension following a red card against France. Ben Curry returns from injury, and Sam Underhill is back from suspension.
Argentina, led by Leicester Tigers hooker Julián Montoya, are expected to name a strong side featuring the return of several top players from France.
The Pumas’ Lions victory last month came despite missing a number of regulars, underlining their growing strength under head coach Felipe Contepomi.
England : 15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 36 caps), 14. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks, 4 caps), 13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 72 caps), 12. Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped), 11. Will Muir (Bath Rugby, uncapped), 10. George Ford (Sale Sharks, 99 caps) – co-captain, 9. Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 8 caps), 1. Fin Baxter (Harlequins, 11 caps), 2. Jamie George (Saracens, 101 caps) – co-captain, 3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 12 caps), 4. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 31 caps), 5. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 7 caps), 6. Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, 11 caps), 7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 40 caps), 8. Tom Willis (Saracens, 6 caps)
Replacements: 16. Theo Dan (Saracens, 17 caps), 17. Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 7 caps), 18. Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks, 1 cap), 19. Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, 15 caps), 20. Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, uncapped), 21. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 20 caps), 22. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps), 23. Cadan Murley (Harlequins, 1 cap)
Argentina: 15 Benjamin Elizalde, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Justo Piccardo, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Lucas Paulos, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Mayco Vivas
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Santiago Grondona, 20 Joaquin Moro, 21 Simon Benitez Cruz, 22 Nicolas Roger, 23 Matias Moroni
Who are the referees?
Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus)Assistant referees: Luc Ramos (Fra) & Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)FPRO: Mike Adamson (Sco)
Match odds
- Argentina: 1/3
- England: 13/5
- Draw: 22/1
(Odds via Betfair, correct at time of publication)