England head coach Eddie Jones has made four changes to his side to play Argentina in Saturday’s third match of the Old Mutual Wealth Series at Twickenham Stadium (kick-off 2.30pm, live on Sky Sports 2).
Alongside Saracens second-row George Kruis, Saints’ Tom Wood returns to the side at flanker while Teimana Harrison joins the bench in a largely unchanged England side.
“Selection was interesting this week but it shows how competitive and how much depth we are developing,” Jones told EnglandRugby.com.
“We’ve had a strong week’s preparation and I’ve been really impressed by the players’ desire to get better. It is a strong and relentless team. All the credit for what the team has done so far this autumn deserves to go to the players who have been absolutely exceptional.
“Dylan Hartley has led from the front as have Owen Farrell, George Ford and Billy Vunipola. There are a number of other players that have been in leadership roles helping to develop the team.
“This game against Argentina is a big step up for us as they were probably the second best team in the Rugby Championship and played some exceptional rugby. They are a quality team, have power in the forwards, speed and guile in the backs as well as great experience. We appreciate they have threats across the field and they have always been a physical, tough side. They still have their set-piece armoury in the scrum and lineouts so we’re looking forward to a great game of rugby against them.
“The set-piece is going to be important. We have worked hard on our scrum and maul this week so they are areas we feel we can get a slight dominance in. We are looking forward to that physical challenge because when you play against the Argentinians it is a challenge. It is forwards against forwards, backs against backs. It is a bit of an old fashioned game.”
ENGLAND TEAM TO FACE ARGENTINA
15. Mike Brown
14. Jonny May
13. Jonathan Joseph
12. Owen Farrell
11. Elliot Daly
10. George Ford
9. Ben Youngs
1. Mako Vunipola
2. Dylan Hartley
3. Dan Cole
4. Courtney Lawes
5. George Kruis
6. Chris Robshaw
7. Tom Wood
8. Billy Vunipola
16. Jamie George
17. Joe Marler
18. Kyle Sinckler
19. Charlie Ewels
20. Teimana Harrison
21. Danny Care
22. Ben Te’o
23. Henry Slade
