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It is a curious aspect of the English team's November clean sweep that there were no debutants earned their international debut throughout the series of matches, a scenario not seen in 25 years. However, the performance of Max Ojomoh showing against Argentina while earning his second appearance seemed to be the breakthrough of a major talent.

Star Display in Tight Victory

Ojomoh was the star turn in what was the team's least convincing performance of the autumn. He finished off the opening touchdown before creating the remaining two. His assist for his teammate via a delightful long pass was the highlight play of the first half. Likewise, his popped pass to Henry Slade for England's third try was equally impressive, capping off a excellent first outing at the home stadium for the young player.

He has the kind of versatile skillset that every manager would want from their inside-centre. He can run, kick and pass, and he has appeared at number ten and at multiple midfield roles for Bath this campaign.

Rapid Rise and Upcoming Opportunities

It is just a little over a week since Steve Borthwick might have felt he had discovered his midfield duo for the future. However, the highest praise that can be paid to Ojomoh is that the coach might need to reconsider. Ojomoh was initially selected to an England squad previously, but had to bide his time until the last game of the overseas trip to earn his first cap. Injuries to teammates paved the way for him to start here, and he surely will be in consideration for a further appearance when the squad reconvene to begin their Six Nations quest in the coming months.

• Versatile Skillset: Excels at number ten and midfield.
• Key Contributions: Scored one try and assisted two.
• Important Performance: Delivered when teammates were injured.

Team Background and Wider Significance

How would England have been against Argentina without him? Undoubtedly they rode their luck and perhaps it is no coincidence that he was their standout performer. The team showed an inevitable drop-off in energy following a major win over the All Blacks. Perhaps the coach should have made more changes.

Some perspective is required, however. One might be inclined to criticize England for their failure to inject much urgency into this match, or for almost throwing away a fixture they were dominating. But, this result completes a clean sweep of November matches for the first time since recent years. 2025 ends with 11 straight wins after beginning with a defeat. The team is halfway through the World Cup cycle and things look much more positive for Borthwick than they did at this stage.

Squad Depth and Long-Term Strategy

Borthwick gives the impression that, with time remaining from the global tournament, he knows the vast majority of the team he will bring to the host nation. Naturally, there will be the odd bolter. But there are very few existing players of the squad who are not in contention for the 2027 tournament.

That represents an advantage because it posed an issue for his predecessor, who struggled when it became apparent that certain players were not going to play in his strategy. He seems to have grasped the nettle sooner, avoiding the torrid start that plagued the team in the previous cycle.

Depth charts sound like they belong to sailors of the past, but managers swear by them and Borthwick can be satisfied with his. Under different circumstances, the team might be dealing with a loss after a heartbreaking narrow loss. The fact they avoided that is largely due to Ojomoh, luck, and the strength of England's substitutes. While Borthwick 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 forgive the paucity of this performance.