George Ford didn't want to be there.

Argentina pump the ball deep into English territory and Ford doesn't have much room to manoeuvre in.

His kick for touch doesn't gain many metres.

Wallop.

Welcome to La Plata, Henry Slade.

The England centre gets his hands on the ball in midfield but the Pumas rush up and Rodrigo Isgro lands a big shot.

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Perhaps that is the plan..?

Yep, you guessed it, Ben Spencer puts the high box kick up again but Argentina are unable to gather cleanly and England force the mistake.

Ben Spencer was about to attempt a third box kick in the opening stages but Argentina are up quickly to limit his time on the ball.

England just want to clear the ball inside their own 22.

England are off their feet at the breakdown and Argentina have the first penalty of the match.

Ben Spencer has had the ball twice and opted to box kick on both occasions.

Argentina are quickly on to the front foot. The blue and white shirts roll through the phases but England stand firm.

Santiago Carreras gets us up and running...

History certainly favours England, who have won 19 and lost four of their previous meetings with Argentina.

England have won four of their past five meetings with the Pumas, who last claimed victory in November 2022.

Their last meeting was in the Bronze medal match at the 2023 World Cup, when England edged to a 26-23 victory.

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Argentina will go into their two-Test home series against a Lions-less England as "heavy favourites" according to the visitors' head coach Steve Borthwick.

The Pumas, ranked fifth in the world, beat the British and Irish Lions in Dublin last month and have also claimed wins over France, South Africa and New Zealand in the past year.

Argentina have never won a series against England but, with home advantage, momentum and the tourists having 13 first-choice players on Lions duty in Australia, they are eyeing a landmark victory.

Read more here.

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Here we go then, we're all set as George Ford leads England out on his 100th cap.

He is followed shortly behind by his team-mates.

Time for the anthems.

Argentina: Elizalde; Isgro, Cinti, Piccardo, Cordero; Carreras, Bertranou; Vivas, Montoya (capt), Delgado, Paulos, Rubiolo, Matera, Gonzalez, Isa.

Replacements: Bernasconi, Gallo, Marchetti, Grondona, Moro, Cruz, Roger, Moroni.

England: Steward; Roebuck, Slade, S Atkinson, Muir; Ford (co-capt), Spencer; Baxter, George (co-capt), Heyes, Ewels, Coles, B Curry, Underhill, Willis.

Replacements: Dan, Rodd, Opoku-Fordjour, Cunningham-South, Pepper, Dombrandt, Van Poortvliet, Murley.

Argentina make six changes to the side which beat the Lions as Santiago Carreras switches from full-back to fly-half.

Gonzalo Bertranou returns at scrum-half and Benjamin Elizalde makes his Test debut at 15, while Santiago Cordero is named on the wing.

Facundo Isa returns to number eight after an 18-month sabbatical from the side as lock Lucas Paulos and prop Pedro Delgado also come into the starting XV.

We'll have the line-ups next...

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Centre Seb Atkinson and wing Will Muir both win their first England caps, with uncapped Bath back row Guy Pepper on the bench.

Centurion George Ford shares the captaincy with hooker Jamie George, with Northampton's Alex Coles partnering Charlie Ewels in the second row and flanker Sam Underhill making his Test comeback after missing the Six Nations with an ankle injury.

Ben Spencer is preferred to Jack van Poortvliet at scrum-half, while full-back Freddie Steward comes in for his first England appearance since February.

With 13 first-choice players missing on Lions duty, there is an inexperienced look to England's team - nine of the starting XV have fewer than 15 caps.

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I'm sure all of the centurion chat has sparked your curiosity as to who else is on the list.

So let's take a look...

Scrum-half Ben Youngs, who retired from international rugby at the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, won 127 caps for his country, the most of any man.

Dan Cole, Jason Leonard, Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes, Danny Care and George Ford's co-captain Jamie George have also passed the 100-Test mark for England.

Sarah Hunter retired in March 2023, meanwhile, having won 141 caps for England's women's team.

How does it feel to ton up for your country?

Here's what George Ford said to BBC Sport earlier this week...

"It is not something you think about at the start of your career," Ford said.

"You dream of playing for England, and when you get to do it once it is an unbelievably special moment - to achieve that was the proudest memory of my career.

"Then I suppose you get your head down to work as hard as you can and improve so you might gather a few caps together - that is all I have tried to do really, take each year and campaign as it comes, try to improve, develop and do the right thing for the team.

"I have the opportunity to hit quite a big milestone and it is something I will be very proud of."

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George Ford will join a prestigious club this evening...

The Sale Sharks fly-half will become the eighth man to make 100 Test appearances for England.

The 32-year-old made his England debut against Wales in the 2014 Six Nations and was a key part of the side that reached the Rugby World Cup final in 2019.

Read more here.

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England have never lost a Test series with Argentina.

Steve Borthwick's side may be without 13 front line players on British and Irish Lions duty but they won't want that record to change.

The Pumas, though, are fresh from victory over the Lions in Dublin and are ranked higher in the world rankings than their visitors.

Fifth plays sixth in the opening game of a two-match series. Kick off is at 20:40 BST in La Plata.

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