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It is a curious feature of England's autumn clean sweep that no new players earned their international debut during the recent campaign, a scenario not seen in a quarter of a century. However, Max Ojomoh's showing against Argentina while earning his second cap seemed to be the arrival of a future star.

Standout Performance in Hard-Fought Victory

Ojomoh was the key player in what was England's most challenging outing of the November series. He scored the opening touchdown before creating the remaining two. The setup for his teammate via a delightful cross-field kick was the highlight play of the first half. Likewise, his popped pass to the center for the team's third try was just as impressive, capping off a excellent debut performance at Twickenham for the 25-year-old.

He has the kind of triple threat that all coaches desire from their midfield player. His abilities include running, kicking, and passing, and he has featured at number ten and at multiple midfield roles for his club this season.

Rapid Rise and Future Opportunities

Only eight days since Steve Borthwick might have felt he had discovered his centre partnership for the long term. But, the best compliment that can be paid to Ojomoh is that Borthwick might need to reconsider. Ojomoh was initially selected to an national team previously, but had to wait until the last game of the summer tour to make his debut. Fitness issues to other players created the opportunity for him to begin here, and he surely will be in contention for a further appearance when the squad regroup to begin their championship campaign in the coming months.

• Multiple Abilities: Excels at fly-half and centre.
• Key Contributions: Scored one try and set up two more.
• Important Performance: Stepped up when teammates were injured.

Team Background and Broader Implications

Where might the team have been against their opponents without him? Undoubtedly they had some fortune and perhaps it is no coincidence that he was their standout performer. England showed an inevitable drop-off in energy following a significant victory over the All Blacks. Perhaps Borthwick should have freshened things up.

Some perspective is required, however. It is tempting to criticize the side for their failure to inject much urgency into this match, or for nearly losing a fixture they were controlling. However, this result marks a perfect record of four autumn fixtures for the first time since 2016. The year concludes with 11 straight wins after starting with a defeat. We are halfway through the World Cup cycle and the situation look much more positive for Borthwick than they did previously.

Player Pool and Long-Term Strategy

The manager appears that, with time remaining from the World Cup, he understands the vast majority of the team he will bring to the host nation. Naturally, there will be the odd bolter. Yet there are not many existing players of the roster who are not in contention for the 2027 tournament.

That represents an advantage because it posed an issue for his predecessor, who found it difficult when it became apparent that veterans were not going to play in his strategy. He seems to have taken action sooner, preventing the difficult beginning that affected the team in the past.

Depth charts seem like they are for sailors of the past, but managers rely on them and the coach can be happy with his. On another day, England 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 the substitutes. As Borthwick plans the route 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.