This marks a interesting aspect of the English team's autumn clean sweep that no new players made their international debut throughout the recent campaign, a scenario not seen in a quarter of a century. Yet, the performance of Max Ojomoh showing against the Argentine side while securing his second appearance felt like the breakthrough of a future star.
Ojomoh was the star turn in what was the team's most challenging outing of the November series. He scored the opening touchdown before setting up the remaining two. The setup for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso via a exquisite cross-field kick was the champagne moment of the opening period. Similarly, his popped pass to the center for England's final score was just as impressive, concluding a excellent debut performance at Twickenham for the 25-year-old.
Ojomoh possesses the kind of versatile skillset that all coaches would want from their inside-centre. He can run, kick and pass, and he has featured at number ten and at both centre positions for his club this campaign.
Only a little over a week since Steve Borthwick could have believed he had discovered his midfield duo for the long term. However, the best compliment that can be paid to the young star is that Borthwick may have to think again. Ojomoh was initially selected to an England squad previously, but had to bide his time until the last game of the summer tour to make his debut. Injuries to teammates created the opportunity for him to begin here, and he undoubtedly will be in contention for a further appearance when England regroup to begin their Six Nations quest in the coming months.
Where might the team have been against Argentina without Ojomoh? Undoubtedly they rode their luck and maybe it is not surprising that he was their standout performer. The team experienced an inevitable drop-off in intensity following a major win over New Zealand. Maybe the coach ought to have freshened things up.
A balanced view is required, however. It is tempting to lambast England for their failure to inject much urgency into this match, or for almost throwing away a fixture they were controlling. But, this result marks a perfect record of November matches for the first time since 2016. 2025 concludes with 11 straight wins after beginning with a loss. We are halfway through the four-year tournament plan and the situation look much more positive for Borthwick than they did previously.
The manager appears that, with time remaining from the global tournament, he knows the vast majority of the squad he will take to the host nation. Naturally, there will be the surprise inclusion. Yet there are very few existing players of the squad who are not on track for the 2027 tournament.
This is an benefit because it was a problem for his preceding coach, who struggled when it was clear that veterans were not going to feature in his plans. Borthwick seems to have taken action earlier, avoiding the torrid beginning that affected the team in the past.
Depth charts sound like they are for seafarers of the past, but coaches swear by them and Borthwick can be happy with his. Under different circumstances, England might be dealing with a loss after a gut-wrenching narrow loss. The fact they avoided that is largely due to Ojomoh, fortune, and the quality of the substitutes. While the coach plots a course to the Six Nations, he has wind in England's sails after 11 wins in a row, and as a result we can forgive the paucity of the recent display.
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