George Ford will start at fly-half on his 100th appearance for England in the first Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
The 32-year-old will become the seventh male centurion in English rugby history 11 years on from his 2014 debut against Wales in the Six Nations.
Sale Sharks fly-half Ford will co-captain England alongside fellow centurion, hooker Jamie George, in the first of the two-Test series against the Pumas, live on Sky Sports.
Ford, who was part of the England squad that reached the final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, famously kicked a hat-trick of drop goals against Argentina at the 2023 Rugby World Cup as Steve Borthwick’s side reached the semi-finals.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Ford said: “Obviously it will be an unbelievably proud moment for me and my family if it does happen. Just playing for England once was a dream when I was growing up as a kid.
Ford made his England Test debut in 2014
“You never really think, even when you play once, that you’ll get near 100. I’m looking forward to it, I’m excited to play in this team. I think the main thing for us is to make sure we have a great week and hopefully a successful game at the weekend.
“We understand the challenge that’s ahead of us. Argentina are obviously in a great run of form, they’re a great team to play against and we’re away from home.
“It’s a pretty hostile environment when you come here but it’s incredible to play in. The plan for us is to be as well prepared as possible and impose our game plan on them, and get a great result.”
Ford is joined in the back line by centre Seb Atkinson and wing Will Muir, who earn their first England caps, while uncapped Bath back-rower Guy Pepper starts on the bench.
Bath flanker Sam Underhill returns to the England set-up after missing the Six Nations with an ankle injury.
England team to play Argentina
Starting XV: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Will Muir, 10 George Ford (co-captain), 9 Ben Spencer; 1 Fin Baxter, 2 Jamie George (co-captain), 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Charlie Ewels, 5 Alex Coles, 6 Ben Curry, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Tom Willis.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Ash Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Alex Dombrandt, 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 Cadan Murley.
More to follow.
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