Argentina v England: Same XV, New Continent and a Sleep Routine Straight Out of a Berocca Advert

Kick-off: Saturday 18 July, 20:10 BST, Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero. Live on ITV1.

Steve Borthwick has kept faith with the entire starting XV that put 73 points past Fiji at Hill Dickinson Stadium last weekend; no changes, front to back. Jamie George leads the side out again, with Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum as his vice-captains, Marcus Smith at fullback, Fin Smith and Jack van Poortvliet running the show at half-back, and Immanuel FeyiWaboso, Seb Atkinson, Henry Slade and Tommy Freeman making up the rest of the back three and midfield. Joe Heyes, Alex Coles and George Martin lock down the tight five alongside George and Genge, with Guy Pepper and Ben Earl completing the back row.

The only shuffling comes on the bench, where Emmanuel Iyogun replaces George Kloska in the front-row cover. Ben Spencer and Noah Caluori also feature among the replacements, with Tom Curry and Henry Pollock offering serious impact options and Asher OpokuFordjour rounding out the front-row reserves.

It’s a strong show of confidence heading into altitude and a hostile Santiago del Estero crowd, probably more so after England’s loss to Argentina in the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup. However it also means this settled group of forwards and backs, freshly weighed down with melatonin and beetroot juice, are being asked to back up a big performance with minimal rotation.

Our Secret to Helping Players Sleep

As England touch down in Santiago del Estero for Saturday’s Nations Championship opener against Los Pumas, England Rugby’s social team let the cat out of the bag on their real prep secret: a shot glass of cherry juice with a stealth dose of melatonin in it, chased down with a beetroot juice for the circulation and a protein shake for good measure. The beetroot shot isn’t just for match day either; nitrates are a decent long-haul trick, keeping the blood moving on a flight from Liverpool to Argentina where legs spend ten-plus hours folded into economy-plus. Forwards and backs lined up necking them like a rugby club initiation, only this one comes with a nutritionist’s blessing.

Somewhere a WHOOP strap is quietly logging “Respiratory Rate: Elevated, Cause: Beetroot Shot, Not Fear.” With Marcus Smith starting at full-back and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso back on the left wing, you have to wonder whether either man’s sleep score owes more to melatonin than to mental toughness, or whether their legs just thank the beetroot for surviving the flight. Either way, #WearTheRose has never looked so much like a Berocca advert.

The Bigger Picture

This is Round 3 of the inaugural Nations Championship’s July window, and both sides arrive with contrasting form. England have split their two matches so far; a heavy 45-21 defeat to South Africa in Johannesburg, followed by a record 73-8 demolition of Fiji in Liverpool. Argentina, meanwhile, opened with a 38-47 loss to Scotland before bouncing back with a 35-21 win over Wales, meaning both sides go into Saturday knowing a win keeps their tournament ambitions alive.

Los Pumas will fancy their chances on home soil; Santiago del Estero is unfamiliar territory for most of this England squad, and the travel, time zone and altitude will all be factors after a long week that started with pre-flight beetroot shots in a Liverpool hotel and ends under the lights in northern Argentina.

England have history on their side in this fixture, but an unchanged side carries its own risk:

fatigue accumulated over successive Tests, against an Argentina side with the extra incentive of a home crowd and a point to prove after their Round 1 defeat.

Kick-off 20:10 BST, Saturday 18 July, live on ITV1 and Seniormash Reflections on Substack