Elliot Daly returns to the field after his participation in the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, after being selected to play as a winger in England’s match against Argentina on Sunday. Daly will take the place of Tom Roebuck, who was ruled out due to a foot injury, in the final autumn match to be played at the Allianz Stadium. Head coach Steve Borthwick made six changes to the team that beat New Zealand 33-19. Daly’s participation in the Lions tour was interrupted by a fractured forearm suffered against the Queensland Reds on July 2, which required the insertion of a plate with 16 screws. Although a specialist authorized him to face New Zealand, it was decided that the versatile 33-year-old player needed another week before being ready for full contact, which resulted in his return for the match against the Pumas. A hard collision with the All Blacks resulted in injuries that ended the autumn season for Roebuck, Ollie Lawrence and Jamie George, while Ollie Chessum and Tommy Freeman had already been ruled out. As a result, Henry Slade will take Lawrence’s place in the center, forming a midfield combination alongside Fraser Dingwall. Luke Cowan-Dickie will come in as hooker to cover the void left by George’s hamstring problem, and will join in a new starting front row to Ellis Genge and Asher Opoku-Fordjour. Joe Heyes, a breakout star of the campaign, is completely left out of the 23-player squad, and the final change sees Ben Spencer take over at scrum-half, with Alex Mitchell moving to the bench. Charlie Ewels will make his first autumn appearance among the substitutes, with Theo Dan providing coverage as hooker. England seeks its eleventh consecutive victory and a complete autumn sweep, having defeated Australia, Fiji and New Zealand this month. Argentina will arrive at Twickenham after a 33-24 victory over Scotland in Edinburgh, secured after coming back from a 21-0 score. “Last weekend gave us a lot to build on and now the challenge is to push our performance even further,” said Borthwick. “Argentina plays with emotion and physicality, and they have shown that they can beat the best in world rugby this year. We know how dangerous they can be and we are preparing for a very contested test match. “We have felt exceptional support at the Allianz Stadium throughout this series. This is a real boost for the players and we hope to create lasting memories for our fans on Sunday.”
England XV to face Argentina
- Freddie Steward
- Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
- Henry Slade
- Fraser Dingwall
- Elliot Daly
- George Ford
- Ben Spencer
- Ellis Genge (vice-captain)
- Luke Cowan-Dickie
- Asher Opoku-Fordjour
- Maro Itoje (captain)
- Alex Coles
- Guy Pepper
- Sam Underhill
- Ben Earl
Substitutes:
- Theo Dan
- Fin Baxter
- Will Stuart
- Charlie Ewels
- Tom Curry
- Henry Pollock
- Alex Mitchell
- Marcus Smith
