England wary of Argentina backlash following opening triumph

The tourists won 32-3 in Salta

Rob Webber (GETTY IMAGES)

Rob Webber insists England are ready to face down the anticipated Buenos Aires backlash from Argentina and inflict more damage on the Pumas in Saturday's second Test.

The England pack set the tone for last weekend's 32-3 triumph in Salta, with two destructive early scrums sending Argentina into reverse and Freddie Burns kicked the penalties.

Argentina captain Felipe Contepomi was furious and vowed the Pumas pack would be a different animal at the Velez Sarsfield stadium but England also have ambitions to improve.

"They will probably be getting put through it in training this week on those areas," Webber said.

"But we are under no illusions that was the perfect set-piece performance.

"We want to dominate every single scrum rather than one in three. It is always a big plus if you can get them going backwards in that area. One area can set the tone for the game.

"If you can get on that front foot then life is a lot easier than if you are back-pedalling. It is fantastic to be in the middle of a pack that is going well.

"We talk about Argentina's scrum a lot but we have good scrum. We are confident we can take it to them in that area."

England played an all-court game in the first 40 minutes against Argentina in Salta. They picked apart the Pumas lineout, they bossed the forward exchanges and cut Argentina to shreds with the ball in hand.

Number eight Ben Morgan and centre Billy Twelvetrees were England's most outstanding ball-carriers, a combination which will have pleased the interim forwards coach Rob Baxter.

"The way Rob tries to get the forwards inter-playing with each other, I have enjoyed that and getting my hands on the ball more," Webber said.

"We try to put each other through holes as a forward pack in the tighter channels.

"Stuart has given us some good frameworks on how we should try to get the ball into space.

"We are not trying to play sevens but we will take calculated risks when it is on to get the ball into space whether that is kicking or running the ball to space. It is about moving up the pitch and gaining momentum however we can."

PA