This weekend’s Nations Championship sees Gloucester Rugby well represented with international centres Seb Atkinson and Max Llewellyn selected for England and Wales, respectively. Atkinson starts at inside centre (number 12) for England, while Llewellyn takes the outside centre jersey (number 13) for Wales.
Seb Atkinson, vice-captain of Gloucester Rugby, has secured his spot despite strong competition from Bristol Bears’ Benhard Janse van Rensburg, who impressed in England’s recent victory over Fiji. Notably, Bath’s Max Ojomoh did not make the England XV.
England’s head coach Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting XV for their match against Argentina in Santiago del Estero. Ben Spencer returns on the bench alongside uncapped loosehead prop Emmanuel Iyogun. Captain Jamie George will earn his 113th cap, placing him fourth on England men’s all-time most-capped players list, with Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum as vice-captains.
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Borthwick expressed enthusiasm about the challenge ahead: “We’re excited by the challenge of playing Los Pumas in Santiago del Estero. The passionate home crowd will make for an incredible atmosphere, and the players are eager to embrace this occasion.”
On the Wales side, Dewi Lake returns from a groin injury to captain the squad against South Africa. Flanker Jac Morgan also starts, while Gloucester’s Freddie Thomas has been added late to the bench as injury cover.
Fixtures and Kick-off:
ARGENTINA vs ENGLAND
Saturday 18 July 2026
Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero
Kick-off: 8.10pm BST
England Starting XV:
15. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 52 caps)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 29 caps)
13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 76 caps)
12. Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 6 caps)
11. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, 15 caps)
10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, 18 caps)
9. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 26 caps)
- Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 82 caps) – vice-captain
- Jamie George (Saracens, 112 caps) – captain
- Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 24 caps)
- Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 21 caps)
- George Martin (Saracens, 23 caps)
- Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 37 caps) – vice-captain
- Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 14 caps)
- Ben Earl (Saracens, 53 caps)
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 60 caps)
17. Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
18. Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks, 8 caps)
19. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 70 caps)
20. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 12 caps)
21. Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 18 caps)
22. Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears, 1 cap)
23. Noah Caluori (Saracens, 1 cap)
With strong Gloucester representation across both England and Wales squads, this weekend promises intense competition as the northern and southern hemisphere powers clash in the final round of the summer Nations Championship.