In a remarkable twist to England's autumn international campaign, Max Ojomoh announced his arrival on the international stage with a performance that left coaches and fans alike taking notice. The versatile back produced a man-of-the-match display against Argentina during only his second appearance in an England shirt, significantly impacting the game with both tries and creative assists.
A Breakout Performance at Twickenham
While England achieved a clean sweep of four autumn fixtures for the first time since 2016, their victory over Argentina represented their least convincing performance of the series. Ojomoh emerged as the shining light in an otherwise patchy team display, finishing off England's first try before creating the other two with moments of individual brilliance.
The 25-year-old Bath player delivered what many are calling the champagne moment of the first half with a delightful cross-field kick that found Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for England's second try. His creative contribution continued with a clever popped pass to Henry Slade for the third score, demonstrating the triple-threat capability that makes him such an attractive prospect for coaches.
Borthwick's Selection Dilemma
Ojomoh's timing could not have been more significant, coming just eight days after Steve Borthwick might have believed he had finally settled on his centre partnership following Fraser Dingwall and Ollie Lawrence's impressive performance against New Zealand. Injuries to both players opened the door for Ojomoh, who had been part of England squads as far back as four years ago but had to wait until the summer tour against the USA for his debut.
His performance against Argentina now gives Borthwick genuine food for thought as England look ahead to their Six Nations campaign in the new year. The head coach has used 53 players across 2025 and 32 across these four November victories, showing his willingness to rotate and assess his options.
Broader Context and Future Prospects
The victory over Argentina completed England's first autumn clean sweep in eight years and marked their eleventh consecutive win after beginning 2025 with defeat in Dublin. As the team reaches the halfway point in the World Cup cycle, the landscape looks considerably brighter for Borthwick than it did at this stage last year.
Borthwick appears to have a clear vision of the squad he will take to Australia for the 2027 World Cup, avoiding the selection issues that plagued his predecessor Eddie Jones. Where Jones struggled to phase out established players like Mike Brown, Dylan Hartley, Chris Robshaw and James Haskell in the previous cycle, Borthwick seems better positioned to manage his squad evolution.
While England rode their luck at times against Argentina and produced a performance lacking the intensity of their historic win over New Zealand the previous week, Ojomoh's emergence provides genuine cause for optimism. His ability to play at fly-half and both centre positions for Bath this season gives Borthwick valuable flexibility as England build momentum with wind in their sails heading into the Six Nations.
