England became only the second team to complete a series clean sweep in Argentina despite being without no fewer than 30 senior players due to injury, suspension and call-ups with the British and Irish Lions.
Eddie Jones' men overcame the odds in following up their opening 38-34 victory in San Juan with an even more impressive 35-25 success in Santa Fe and, here, Press Association Sport looks at the major talking points of the series.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Jones handed out 11 new caps - there were another seven that will return home still waiting for their first taste of international rugby - and most of them seized their opportunity to press their claims for a place in his 2019 World Cup squad. Five of them would have been in the Under-20s team which still managed to reach the World Championship final. Some will inevitably join the one-cap club when the Lions players return for the autumn internationals but players like Sam Curry, Charlie Ewels, Sam Underhill and Piers Francis laid down a marker for the future.
THE EXPERIENCED CAMPAIGNERS HAVE STILL GOT WHAT IT TAKES
Largely through necessity, Jones ended up with the perfect balance of youth and experience which eventually saw off the dangerous Pumas. Full-back Mike Brown, half-backs George Ford and Danny Care and forwards Joe Launchbury and Chris Robshaw all made significant contributions and proved their determination to play key roles in the 2019 World Cup. Launchbury is still only 26 but now has 44 caps and the 6ft 6in Wasps lock grew in stature on the tour. His combination with the improving Ewels was one of the highlights of the second Test win, especially the way he produced a half-break and delicate offload to get his second row partner over for the first try. Launchbury especially would not look out of place in a Lions shirt.
FORD SHOWS HE CAN RUN THE SHOW WITHOUT FARRELL
Ford was the man of the series, having grabbed the opportunity to step out of the shadow of Owen Farrell. The former Bath fly-half, who will return to Leicester next season, marshalled the youthful England side superbly and it was his game management, in addition to superb marksmanship, that proved the difference in the end between two closely matched teams.
QUESTION MARKS REMAIN ABOUT DENNY SOLOMONA
Much was expected of the former league winger who, on the back of scoring a Super League record 40 tries for Castleford in 2016, was fast-tracked into the England squad after touching down 11 times in 15 games for Sale. But it was impossible to draw many conclusions from his two cameo appearances. He had half-an-hour in the first Test, in which he recovered from a nightmare start to score the match-winning try with a glimpse of his scoring ability, but went on only for the last 14 minutes in Santa Fe and did not have chance to show his skills.
EDDIE JONES IS A HARD TASK-MASTER
The man management skills of the 57-year-old Australian came to the fore on this tour. He knows when to chide and when to praise and winger Marland Yarde appeared to be the constant butt of his well-intended barbs. Even the young guns were firmly kept on their toes, with debutant Sam Underhill revealing the coach's particular attention to detail. " You are always getting picked on," he said. "Even when you think you have had a really good training session, you will get picked up for something you didn't notice. There's no such thing as a perfect performance. There are always areas to improve on. That's what you want as a player." Jones also demonstrated there is no room for sentiment in professional sport in the case of young hooker Jack Singleton, who paid for his mother and brother to fly out to watch the games only to witness him sit on the bench throughout both of them.
Source: PA
