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This marks a curious feature of England's November clean sweep that there were no debutants made their international debut during the recent campaign, a scenario not seen in a quarter of a century. Yet, Max Ojomoh's showing against the Argentine side while securing his second cap felt like the breakthrough of a major talent.

Standout Performance in Tight Victory

He proved to be the star turn in what was England's least convincing performance of the autumn. He scored the first try before creating the remaining two. His assist for his teammate via a delightful long pass was the champagne moment of the opening period. Likewise, his popped pass to Henry Slade for England's final score was equally impressive, concluding a fine debut performance at Twickenham for the 25-year-old.

Ojomoh possesses the sort of versatile skillset that every manager would want from their inside-centre. His abilities include running, kicking, and passing, and he has appeared at fly-half and at multiple midfield roles for his club this season.

Quick Rise and Upcoming Prospects

It is just a little over a week since the head coach might have felt he had finally unearthed his centre partnership for the future. However, the highest praise that can be paid to Ojomoh is that Borthwick might need to think again. He was first called up to an England squad previously, but had to bide his time until the last game of the summer tour to make his debut. Fitness issues to other players paved the way for Ojomoh to begin here, and he surely will be in consideration for a third cap when the squad reconvene to start their championship quest in the coming months.

• Versatile Skillset: Can play number ten and centre.
• Crucial Input: Scored one try and set up two more.
• Timely Impact: Delivered when others were unavailable.

Team Context and Wider Implications

How would the team have fared against Argentina without him? Certainly they rode their luck and perhaps it is not surprising that he was their best player. The team experienced an natural decline in intensity following a major win over the All Blacks. Perhaps the coach ought to have freshened things up.

A balanced view is needed, however. It is tempting to criticize the side for their failure to bring much intensity into this contest, or for almost throwing away a game they were controlling. However, this result marks a clean sweep of four autumn fixtures for the first time since 2016. 2025 concludes with 11 straight wins after beginning with a loss. The team is midway in the World Cup cycle and things look considerably rosier for the coach than they did at this stage.

Squad Depth and Future Planning

Borthwick appears that, two years out from the World Cup, he understands the vast majority of the squad he will take to Australia. Of course, there will be the surprise inclusion. Yet there are not many existing players of the squad who are not on track for the upcoming event.

This is an benefit because it was a problem for his predecessor, who struggled when it was clear that certain players were not going to play in his strategy. Borthwick seems to have taken action earlier, avoiding the difficult beginning that plagued the team in the past.

Player rankings sound like they belong to seafarers of the past, but managers swear by them and Borthwick can be happy with his. Under different circumstances, England might be dealing with a loss after a heartbreaking narrow loss. The fact they avoided that owes plenty to the young star, luck, and the strength of England's bench. While Borthwick plans the route to the championship, he has positive momentum after an unbeaten run, and as a result we can overlook the paucity of this performance.