Argentina v England (2nd Test)

England’s young stars shined beyond all expectations when trashing Argentina in the first test in Buenoa Aires last week and despite being shorn of one of their vital players they can complete a series win in style by winning well once again for the second week in a row.

Led by Freddie burns and the now absent Billy Twelvetrees, England took only 40 minutes to dismantle their hosts, who were missing 21 players due to other commitments, especially with the Rugby Championship coming up fast on the horizon and several top European players just finishing brutal European seasons.

Much of the finesse came from the backs as the likes of Freddie Burns and Christian Wade ran riot, but the forward domination was unexposed with David Wilson showing up well in Dan Cole’s absence and Joe Marler not tested as had been previously expected, while the backrow of Wood, Kvesic – who made a superb 20 tackles to shackle any chance of a sustained Argentinean attack – and the barnstorming Ben Morgan provided an excellent foundation for England’s promising backline.

The scale of the defeat in the first test is sure to have scorned the Argentinians and a backlash of sorts can be expected, but there is potential for England too to improve given how comfortable they were despite slowing down significantly in the second half – they scored the only points of the second half in the final moments – and while the loss of Billy Twelvetrees is a blow, Kyle Eastmond has been longing for a chance and Marland Yarde has had an excellent season for London Irish on the wing.

Thanks to Ben Foden and Billy Vunipola, England can also call on bench strength as well and they have no small amount of physically to call upon either. Tom Wood has predicted a ‘blood and thunder’ test but Argentina were only going backwards last week and England are capable of covering a 14 point handicap.

Advice

2 pts England -14 (evs Sportingbet)