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This marks a curious aspect of the English team's autumn clean sweep that there were no debutants made their international debut throughout the recent campaign, a scenario not seen in a quarter of a century. Yet, Max Ojomoh's showing against Argentina while earning his second appearance seemed to be the breakthrough of a future star.

Star Display in Hard-Fought Win

He proved to be the star turn in what was England's most challenging outing of the autumn. He finished off the opening touchdown before creating the other two. His assist for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso via a exquisite cross-field kick was the champagne moment of the first half. Similarly, his popped pass to Henry Slade for the team's third try was just as eye-catching, concluding a fine debut performance at Twickenham for the young player.

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 fly-half and at both centre positions for Bath this campaign.

Quick Ascent and Future Opportunities

It is just a little over a week since the head coach might have felt he had discovered his midfield duo for the future. But, the best compliment that can be paid to the young star is that the coach might need to reconsider. He was first called up to an national team previously, but had to wait until the final match of the overseas trip to earn his first cap. Fitness issues to teammates paved the way for Ojomoh to start here, and he undoubtedly will be in contention for a further appearance when England regroup to start their championship quest in the new year.

• Multiple Abilities: Can play fly-half and midfield.
• Crucial Input: Notched a touchdown and assisted two.
• Important Performance: Delivered when teammates were unavailable.

Team Context and Wider Significance

Where might the team have been against their opponents without Ojomoh? Undoubtedly they had some fortune and perhaps it is not surprising that he was their best player. England experienced an inevitable drop-off in intensity following a major win over New Zealand. Maybe Borthwick should have made more changes.

Some perspective is needed, though. One might be inclined to lambast England for their failure to bring much urgency into this contest, or for nearly losing a fixture they were controlling. However, this result marks a clean sweep of November matches for the initial occasion since recent years. The year ends with eleven consecutive victories after starting with a defeat. The team is midway in the four-year tournament plan and the situation look considerably rosier for Borthwick than they did at this stage.

Player Pool and Future Planning

Borthwick appears that, with time remaining from the World Cup, he understands the vast majority of the team he will take to the host nation. Naturally, there will be the surprise inclusion. Yet there are very few current members of the squad who are not on track for the 2027 tournament.

That represents an advantage because it was a problem for his preceding coach, who found it difficult when it was clear that certain players were not going to feature in his strategy. He seems to have taken action sooner, preventing the torrid beginning that plagued the team in the past.

Depth charts seem like they belong to sailors of the past, but coaches rely on them and the coach can be happy with his. On another day, the team might be nursing their wounds after a heartbreaking narrow loss. The fact they avoided that is largely due to Ojomoh, luck, and the strength of England's bench. While Borthwick plots a course to the Six Nations, he has wind in England's sails after an unbeaten run, and as a result we can overlook the paucity of the recent display.