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This marks a curious feature of England's autumn clean sweep that no new players earned their first cap throughout the recent campaign, a scenario not seen in a quarter of a century. Yet, Max Ojomoh's display against the Argentine side while earning his second appearance felt like the arrival of a major talent.

Star Performance in Tight Victory

Ojomoh was the star turn in what was England's most challenging performance of the November series. He scored the first try before setting up the other two. His assist for his teammate via a delightful long pass was the champagne moment of the first half. Similarly, his quick offload to Henry Slade for the team's final score was just as impressive, capping off a fine debut performance at Twickenham for the 25-year-old.

He has the sort of versatile skillset that all coaches desire from their inside-centre. His abilities include running, kicking, and passing, and he has featured at number ten and at both centre positions for Bath this season.

Rapid Ascent and Future Prospects

It is just a little over a week since Steve Borthwick might have felt he had discovered his midfield duo for the future. But, the best compliment that can be paid to Ojomoh is that the coach might need to reconsider. He was initially selected to an national team previously, but had to bide his time until the last game of the summer tour to make his debut. Injuries to teammates paved the way for Ojomoh to begin here, and he surely will be in consideration for a further appearance when England regroup to start their championship campaign in the coming months.

• Versatile Skillset: Excels at number ten and midfield.
• Crucial Input: Scored one try and assisted two.
• Timely Impact: Stepped up when others were injured.

Squad Context and Broader Implications

Where might the team have been against their opponents without him? Certainly they had some fortune and maybe it is no coincidence that he was their best player. The team showed an inevitable drop-off in energy following a significant victory over the All Blacks. Maybe the coach should have freshened things up.

Some perspective is needed, however. It is tempting to lambast England for their inability to inject much urgency into this match, or for nearly losing a game they were controlling. However, this outcome marks a clean sweep of November matches for the initial occasion since 2016. 2025 concludes with 11 straight wins after beginning with a loss. We are midway in the four-year tournament plan and the situation look considerably rosier for Borthwick than they did previously.

Player Pool and Future Planning

Borthwick gives the impression that, two years out from the global tournament, he knows the vast majority of the squad he will bring to Australia. Of course, there will be the odd bolter. But there are not many 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 predecessor, who found it difficult when it was clear that veterans were not going to feature in his plans. Borthwick seems to have taken action sooner, preventing the torrid start that affected the squad in the past.

Player rankings seem like they belong to seafarers of the past, but coaches swear by them and Borthwick can be happy with his. On another day, the team might be dealing with a loss after a heartbreaking narrow loss. The fact they avoided that is largely due to the young star, luck, and the strength 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 overlook the lack of quality of this performance.