Which current England Rugby players debuted on 2017 tour of Argentina?
England’s summer tour of Argentina & the USA poses an opportunity for some players to make their senior debuts, but which current players burst onto the scene on England’s last tour of Argentina?
This year Steve Borthwick finds himself without 13 of his players, with Maro Itoje captaining The Lions and the likes of Tommy Freeman and Ben Earl chosen to tour Australia. He has selected 10 uncapped players in his squad and eight years ago the team faced a similar challenge.
England last faced Los Pumas on Argentine soil in 2017, and at the same time The British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand. This left them without a host of regulars including Itoje, Owen Farrell and Courtney Lawes.
Particularly impacted were the positions of loosehead prop, second row and back row, with Mako Vunipola, Joe Marler, George Kruis and James Haskell also touring New Zealand. This provided a window of opportunity for a handful of players who have gone on to enjoy long international careers.
Tom Curry
Named in the Lions squad this year, Curry made his England debut in the first Test against Argentina at just 18 years old.
An impressive display, especially at the breakdown, saw him earmarked as having a bright international future and the prediction has so far proved true.
Curry has gone on to make 61 appearances for his country, reach the final of the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup and win the 2020 Guinness Men’s Six Nations.
The flanker even represented the Lions in 2021, starting all three Tests, as well as facing Argentina in the first of this year’s warm-up games.
Sam Underhill
Another flanker, Underhill won his first cap the week after Curry as England beat Los Pumas 25-35.
Since making his debut Underhill has been an integral part of the side when fit and started five of England’s games at the 2019 World Cup, including the 19-7 semi-final win over New Zealand.
Known for his powerful tackling, the Bath man now has 48 caps and could win more this summer as he has been selected as part of Borthwick’s touring party.
Nick Isiekwe
Although the 19-year-old Isiekwe only played three minutes on the tour, he has gone on to win 15 caps and played for England throughout the 2024 Autumn Nations Series.
In 2022 Isiekwe underwent heart surgery for a dilated aorta, which put him out of action for both England and Saracens until 2023. Since then he has fought back to being in his best form and played for England XV in their recent game against France XV.
Ellis Genge
Although Genge made his first appearance as a replacement against Wales the year before, he won just his second cap and made his first Test start against Argentina.
The destructive loosehead filled the void left by Marler and Vunipola, and started both fixtures as he gave supporters an idea of what was to come.
Since 2017, Genge has enjoyed a similar run to Curry, finishing second at the World Cup, winning the Six Nations and claiming 71 England caps.
After missing out on the 2021 Lions tour of South Africa, the Bristol prop was named in Andy Farrell’s starting Lions 15 to face Argentina in a full-circle moment.
Notable mentions
There are many more England players who made their debuts against Argentina, but not all of them did so on the 2017 tour.
Jonny May made his debut against Argentina in similar circumstances in 2013 as the Lions toured Australia, as did Billy Vunipola. Four years before that, future captain Chris Robshaw also faced Los Pumas for his first England cap, while Toby Flood made his first appearance against them in 2006.
Back when Test matches with Argentina were rarer, the likes of Danny Grewcock (1997), Martin Corry (1997) and Jason Leonard (1990) all won their first caps against the Pumas.
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