Matt's Armchair Ratings from Argentina

England 31-24 Argentina

One thing I wanted to do after watching England’s win over Argentina was look beyond the headlines and simply assess where this team now is.

Not marks out of ten; just some armchair observations.

Full-back: Marcus Smith

I thought Marcus Smith was very accomplished.

Argentina didn’t test him under the high ball anywhere near as much as they had in previous encounters, and that allowed him to play with confidence. His positioning was good, he counter-attacked intelligently and looked increasingly comfortable at fifteen.

The Wings

I thought both wings were outstanding.

Whether it was pace, power or physicality, England now possess genuine attacking threats on both flanks. Defending the box kick is still a work in progress, but importantly England have adopted a clear system. The more they work on it, the more effective they’ll become.

Centres

One of the biggest positives for me was simply seeing the same centre partnership together again.

Continuity matters.

Seb Atkinson continues to impress both with and without the ball, while Henry Slade reminded everyone why his experience still matters and that picking on current form can reap benefits. His tackle in the closing moments probably saved England from an even more dramatic finish.

Together they looked balanced in both attack and defence.

Fly-half: Fin Smith

Another outstanding performance.

Every week he looks more comfortable controlling international rugby.

His game management is improving, his attacking instincts remain excellent and I don’t think people appreciate just how resilient his defence has become.

For me, he is making the England number ten shirt his own.

Scrum-half: Jack van Poortvliet

Much improved.

He looked sharper around the base of the scrum, more confident with his passing and gave England’s backs quicker ball.

His relationship with Fin Smith also appears to be growing every week.

Front Row

I thought this was an excellent day for England’s front-row unit.

Not just those who started, but those who came off the bench.

Collectively they worked tirelessly and, for long periods, dominated an experienced Argentinian pack.

The only observation I’d make looking ahead to the Rugby World Cup is at hooker.

Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jamie George have been tremendous servants to England, but both are entering the latter stages of their international careers.

Steve Borthwick now needs to identify who will become England’s next world-class hooker.

That succession planning needs to happen now rather than in eighteen months’ time.

Second Row

Quietly effective.

Solid in the line-out.

Committed in defence.

They may not grab the headlines, but England’s second rows gave the side an excellent platform throughout the match.

Back Row

This looked much more like the Ben Earl we’ve become used to seeing.

Dynamic.

Powerful.

Constantly involved.

England are a better team when Ben Earl is playing with that sort of confidence.

Alongside him, Guy Pepper and Ollie Chessum continue to grow into reliable international performers.

They’re becoming players England can trust every week.

The Bench

One of England’s real strengths at the moment.

Every replacement understood their role; nobody tried to overplay.

They simply came on, maintained the intensity and contributed positively.

That’s exactly what international coaches want from a bench. Mainstream media focus on Pollock but from the armchair it is all of them that count.

Overall

If I had one takeaway, it’s this.

England are beginning to look more like a settled international side; despite the clamour from pundits. The combinations are improving.

The confidence is growing.

The attack has genuine variety; Lee Blackett is making his mark.

There are still areas to polish; particularly discipline and emotional control but this feels like a squad developing an identity. Give the yellow cards context before using it as a headline

And that’s probably the biggest positive Steve Borthwick will take from another successful trip to Argentina.