It’s not the only big game between the two countries this week! But there is a hell of a lot riding on the result of England’s Nations Championship clash with Argentina in Santiago del Estero on Saturday night.
Lose and the pressure on Steve Borthwick – which was huge on the back of the Six Nations – will only increase further. Win and the summer campaign will be seen as a positive response to what was statistically England’s worst ever Championship in 2026.
Two wins from three matches and a defeat by South Africa would, I’m sure, have been what the RFU was expecting at the very least. So, how the Argentina game goes is going to be crucial in how Borthwick as head coach and the national team will be viewed.
That might sound flippant because clearly a side can’t be analysed fully based on just one game.
But at the same time, international rugby is a results business and there are some matches that are more important than others. Winning is everything and if England don’t do that this weekend, there could be trouble on the horizon for Borthwick.
England will have learned very little from Fiji.
Steve Borthwick will be under increasing pressure if England lose to Argentina
Their 73-8 win over the Pacific Islanders will only have a small bearing on this weekend.
Fiji were just awful and England smelled blood at the set-piece. Their scrum and line-out were very good and they went after them there. They’ll have to do the same again in Argentina.
England have a good recent record against the Pumas, winning the past five matches. That run included a series victory in South America last summer when England’s top stars were away on Lions duty.
That should give them plenty of confidence for this weekend. Having watched Argentina against Scotland and Wales in the past fortnight, I think there are three key areas England need to focus on to win – the set-piece, collision dominance and the aerial game.
Those areas are key to most matches and the first two are among England’s strengths. But I think the latter is particularly key this time around. Argentina were poor in their defeat by Scotland, but against Wales they had a lot of joy by kicking to reclaim possession.
This is something England were very good at in their 12-match unbeaten run, but haven’t been so successful at since. Argentina’s starting wingers Mateo Carreras and Bautista Delguy are brilliant at winning ball in the air.
When they do, it leaves the opposition defence unstructured and allows the Pumas to bring their powerful back-rows Marcos Kremer and Joaquin Oviedo into the game. In unstructured play, their full-back Santiago Carreras is one of the best in the world.
The 73-8 win over Fiji will have only a small bearing on this weekend’s clash
That’s exactly what Argentina did against Wales. I’ve no doubt they will try to target England again in this area, so I’d be very surprised if Freddie Steward isn’t recalled to play at full-back.
Marcus Smith has started the past two games at No 15, but the aerial game isn’t his biggest strength. Conversely, it’s the best part of Steward’s make up. This will be England’s third game in as many weekends on three different continents, so I don’t think it would be the worst thing for Borthwick to freshen up his team.
I’m not advocating wholesale changes, but selecting Steward would certainly make sense for this game. There’ll be a lot of clamour for Henry Pollock to start after his Fiji treble. I’m sure Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Noah Caluori will also be in the conversation too after their try-scoring debuts.
But I’d imagine all three will stay on the bench. On their day, Argentina can beat any team in the world. We’ve seen that happen many times over the past few years, so their danger is apparent.
England certainly won’t be underestimating them. But at the same time, Argentina haven’t recorded three straight wins over tier-one countries for three years. They have proved themselves to be inconsistent.
England have been yin and yang themselves, but they have to prey on Argentina’s weaknesses. I genuinely see this as a 50:50 game. It’s that hard to call. What I do know is that what’s riding on the result is far bigger for England than it is for Argentina.
Sometimes, at international level, that fear of failure when it really matters can really drive you on. It could be England’s secret weapon this weekend.
Wales’ final summer game is a daunting trip to world champions South Africa
Wales’ final summer game is a daunting trip to South Africa. As they did for their victory over Scotland – one which they had to work really hard for – the Springboks have named a second-choice team.
It’s pretty worrying for the rest of the rugby world that Rassie Erasmus is without his top four picks at lock and can still field the impressive sides he has. Last autumn, Wales were hammered 73-0 by the Springboks, so the result is another foregone conclusion.
What then can Wales look to take from the game? If I was in the set-up, I’d be aiming to focus purely on attack.
Scotland played very well against South Africa last weekend and even though it wasn’t enough for victory, they had joy with the ball. I’m not quite sure how Erasmus’ men didn’t concede more points.
Their scramble defence got them out of trouble on numerous occasions. That part of their game impressed me. Wales should be aiming to rock up in Durban and score four tries. If they do that, it can be a successful outing regardless of how many points they concede.
The loss of captain Dewi Lake after he was injured against Argentina won’t help. South Africa did give chances to both England and Scotland.
Last November, Wales were well beaten by New Zealand but showed promise by scoring four tries. If they can do that again against the Springboks, I think they’ll be punching the air with delight! As coach, Steve Tandy will have to tidy up some of the defensive lapses Wales had in Argentina as even with a rotated side and a rookie No 10, South Africa don’t need a helping hand!
Ireland prepared for their clash with the All Blacks by beating Japan at the weekend
The quality of rugby in the Nations Championship has been very high. The best games of the summer’s final round are at the beginning and end of Saturday. England’s visit to Argentina is the concluding act, but right at the start of this weekend I can’t wait for New Zealand against Ireland at Eden Park. The two teams have built up a real rivalry.
Not many sides win an away series against the All Blacks, but that’s exactly what Ireland did in 2022. They undoubtedly have the best recent record of the Six Nations countries against them.
What’s particularly interesting about this latest renewal is that both teams are finding out about themselves. Ireland aren’t the side they were four years ago. Andy Farrell is evolving his squad and grappling with the best style of play to use.
New Zealand, meanwhile, are at the start of a new era with Dave Rennie in charge. On the basis of their first two games under Rennie’s guidance, the All Blacks want to go through more attacking phases than they did under Scott Robertson.
They definitely seem to be kicking less. In their wins over France and Italy in the past fortnight, New Zealand have been good with the ball. But they have coughed up a fair few line breaks defensively.
As Ireland coach, Farrell will have put a big emphasis on this game and their travel schedule has been favourable after they beat Japan in Australia last weekend.
If Ireland can get their trademark short passing game going, they will get chances but New Zealand will be favourites and there is the Eden Park factor to consider too. The All Blacks just don’t lose at the iconic Auckland venue.
Don’t miss The Debrief with Dan Biggar and Ronan O’Gara, brought to you by Allianz on ITV4 at 6pm on Sunday, as they dissect the biggest talking points from the Nations Championship.
