England have been forced to change hotel in Buenos Aires on Sunday night to avoid being caught up in any celebrations should Argentina win the World Cup.
Hundreds of thousands of fans gathered around the famous Obelisk on the Plaza de la Republica on Wednesday night to celebrate the 2-1 semi-final victory over Thomas Tuchel’s side – right outside where England have been based in the Argentinian capital.
Fireworks were let off throughout the night and earplugs were issued to players and staff to help with sleep amid the noise, while steel fencing was erected around the hotel as a precautionary measure.
England travel to Santiago del Estero for Saturday’s clash with the Pumas but head back to Buenos Aires 24 hours later, running the risk of being caught up in the type of scenes witnessed in 2022 when millions descended on the Obelisk after Argentina won the World Cup.
To avoid any logistical issues arising in the event Argentina defeat Spain in the final, they have chosen a new hotel near the airport ahead of their return home on Monday.
“I wouldn’t suggest that everybody got a great night’s sleep last night – there were still fireworks going off at 4am this morning,” Borthwick said.
“Most of us were on the other side of the hotel and earplugs were issued to everybody, so we were prepared for that.
“I went up to the hotel terrace that overlooks the street fairly late and there were still a load of players just watching it and just taking it in. People jumping up and down for hours in the streets. Fireworks going off. It was something to see.
“We’d obviously all wanted England to win but one of the experiences of touring is seeing a spectacle like that in a different part of the world.”
England have named an unchanged team against the Pumas, with Henry Pollock failing to dislodge Ben Earl or Guy Pepper from the back row despite running in a hat-trick as a replacement against Fiji last Saturday.
Already a topic of conversation amongst Argentinian rugby fans, footage has emerged showing the flamboyant 21-year-old taunting a crowd of locals, many of whom were wearing national colours.
The incident took place on the team bus as England returned to their hotel after training on Wednesday, with Pollock making a series of faces and gesturing for them to be quiet.
Borthwick has defended Pollock, who remains on the bench for the final leg of England’s July tour.
“Henry’s full of character,” England’s head coach said. “We want character in our game and we want character in our squad.
“This squad really embraces what he brings. It takes all kinds of different personalities and we’ve got some players who wouldn’t do that and then you’ve got Henry who would go and do that.
“We embrace it. I think it was done in good nature and it came from a very good place.”
