George Ford is set to earn his 100th England cap in this weekend’s opening Test against Argentina.
Along with hooker Jamie George, and with regular skipper Maro Itoje currently on tour with the British and Irish Lions in Australia, the experienced Sale fly-half will once again co-captain Steve Borthwick’s side in the first of two meetings with the Pumas to be held at Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi in La Plata on Saturday night.
The duo also led an England XV together for last month’s narrow 26-24 defeat by their France counterparts at Allianz Stadium Twickenham in what was a non-cap international.
But now Ford - who made his debut in 2014 - will bring up his century of appearances, becoming just the eighth men’s player to do so for England, joining a list led by the recently retired Ben Youngs that also includes Dan Cole, Jason Leonard, Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes, Danny Care and George.
He is currently third on the list of all-time England points scorers with 413, behind only Farrell and Jonny Wilkinson.
“George has been a standout player for over a decade,” said head coach Borthwick. “Reaching 100 caps is a remarkable achievement, and it speaks volumes about both the professional and the person he is. Everyone in the squad is incredibly proud to share this moment with him.”
Ford and George lead an England team missing 12 regulars currently away with the Lions, with Itoje joined in Australia by Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Will Stuart, Ollie Chessum, Ben Earl, Henry Pollock, Tom Curry, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell and Tommy Freeman.
Elliot Daly suffered a tour-ending fractured forearm in the Lions’ midweek win over the Queensland Reds in Brisbane and has been replaced in the squad by Farrell, who has not played for England since the 2023 World Cup after stepping back from international rugby to prioritise his and his family’s mental wellbeing.
Borthwick has named two debutants in his starting XV to face an Argentina team who stunned the Lions 28-24 in their 1888 Cup fixture in Dublin last month, with Bath’s Premiership winner Will Muir lining up on the wing and Seb Atkinson of Gloucester at inside centre.
Bath flanker Guy Pepper is also poised to earn his first official cap off the bench, having started against the French XV along with Atkinson.
Fellow uncapped hopefuls Joe Carpenter, Oscar Beard, Charlie Atkinson, Arthur Clark, Luke Northmore, Max Ojomoh and Afolabi Fasogbon will all have to wait for their first England outings, with Northampton prop Emmanuel Iyogun missing out through injury.
England are without Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who has gone on the trip despite being suspended for Saturday’s game and the second Test against Argentina in San Juan next week after his red card for a dangerous high tackle on fly-half Antoine Hastoy during the first half of the defeat by France XV.
The Exeter wing, who was making his first appearance since December after a shoulder injury having also been tipped in some quarters for a late Lions call-up, will not be eligible to play until the one-off Test against the USA in Washington, D.C. on July 19.
Tom Roebuck lines up opposite Muir instead, with Atkinson partnered in midfield by the experienced Henry Slade. Freddie Steward provides more Test know-how at full-back, with Bath’s Ben Spencer at scrum-half and backed up by Jack van Poortvliet, who trained with the Lions earlier this summer but was overlooked in favour of Scotland’s Ben White for a call-up after the hamstring injury sustained by Tomos Williams.
Fin Baxter and Joe Heyes line up either side of George in the front row, with Charlie Ewels in at lock alongside Alex Coles.
Ben Curry is fit again to start at blindside flanker, with Sam Underhill back from a ban to take the openside spot and Tom Willis at number eight.
Pepper and Van Poortvliet are joined in reserve by another player to have trained with the Lions this summer in prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour, plus Theo Dan, Bevan Rodd, Chandler Cunningham-South, Alex Dombrandt and Cadan Murley.
Fraser Dingwall, George Furbank, Ollie Lawrence, Alex Lozowski, George Martin, Joe Batley and Ollie Sleightholme are all missing the tour due to injury.
“We’re excited to be playing in Argentina and to test ourselves against a strong, in-form side,” said Borthwick. “Having beaten the British & Irish Lions in Dublin, they come into this series as favourites. They’re brilliantly led by Julián Montoya, and we know it will be a huge challenge.”
England team for first Test against Argentina
England XV: Steward; Roebuck, Slade, S Atkinson, Muir; Ford (co-c), Spencer; Baxter, George (co-c), Heyes; Ewels, Coles; B Curry, Underhill, Willis
Replacements: Dan, Rodd, Opoku-Fordjour, Cunningham-South, Pepper, Dombrandt, Van Poortvliet, Murley
