England set their springbok free to roam pampas

The last time England toured Argentina the then captain, Phil de Glanville, thumped into a substantial but unfamiliar figure at the squad's first get-together. "Who are you?" said de Glanville. "Danny Grewcock," came the reply. The man of mystery went on to make his Test debut in Buenos Aires, score a try, and serve England and the Lions with distinction. Well, Phil, now you know.

Chances are that there were a few quizzical looks exchanged when the latest Red Rose party to head for the Pampas met up at their Surrey hotel on Friday, albeit that none of the 30 tourists hail from a Second Division club as Grewcock did in 1997. The ravages of a long season have culled Clive Woodward's selection to the same extent that the Lions tour five years ago removed 18 front-line players. So the knock of opportunity is bound to be heard by at least one figure whose presence in the average English clubhouse would not turn a head, and Geoff Appleford could be that man.

Appleford arrived at London Irish from his native South Africa in November 2000. Dick Best, the Exiles' director of rugby at the time, needed a centre and recalled a gangly youth from a coaching clinic he had given in Durban a couple of years earlier. When Appleford, whose career with Natal and Mpumalanga was going nowhere fast, decided to try the English scene, it was something in the genes.

"My mum's father was born in London," said Appleford on the eve of departure for the two-match trip to Buenos Aires. "His name was Harry Wilding, and he emigrated to South Africa, where my mum was born. I'd been to England a few times on holiday, so it wasn't new to me."

It was a different kind of wanderlust for Appleford than that of his father, who, as a young man, drove through Africa with half a dozen mates and ended up in London, playing junior rugby for the London Springboks for a while before returning to the Republic. Appleford junior had all but given up on the green jersey of South Africa, yet his English qualification through his grandfather was far from uppermost in his thoughts.

"It didn't take me long to settle at London Irish," he said. "Ryan Strudwick, who I'd played with in Natal, and Richard Bates, another South African, were already there, and I was happy from the start. But it's only this year that the rugby has taken off."

An apt metaphor, for in addition to his central role in London Irish's best ever season in both cup and league, Appleford's aptitude for sevens has seen him globe-trotting with England, his adopted country, in the World Series. Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, China and Hong Kong are all stamped in the passport thanks to England's commitment to the abbreviated game. It was the first stop, before all those, which most emphasised the change in direction in Appleford's career: Durban, last November.

"I was dreading it," he said. "I wasn't scared of what the public might say, more weary of the teasing from my friends. As it turned out, it was nice to see the family and everyone was supportive of what I had chosen to do. My mum, dad, brother and sister were there."

The qualification rules for Sevens are precisely the same as those that bind selection for A-level and full internationals. As soon as Appleford accepted the invitation of Joe Lydon, England's Sevens coach, there was no turning back. "I did think about it," Appleford admitted. "When I was in South Africa, I dreamed of playing for South Africa. When the England chance came, I talked to my parents and family and the reaction was good. Everyone was pleased. It's inter-national rugby and a great opportunity."

So the kid from Dundee, at the foot of the Drakensberg mountains inland from Durban, who was schooled at Maritzburg College and Natal University, finds himself treading a similar path to Mike Catt a decade earlier, into the England fraternity. In cricket, too, the South African accent is far from unfamiliar in the England dressing room, although it is tough to imagine the quietly spoken Appleford doing a Tony Greig by predicting a grovelling time for Argentina.

Appleford's play has been eloquent enough in itself. Positioned outside Brendan Venter, the 24-year-old has put his six foot three inches frame to outstanding use, not least when he scored two of his three tries this season in London Irish's thumping Powergen Cup final win over Northampton at Twickenham.

The first try appeared to be straight off the training ground, yet Appleford has a different version. "We had a line-out, which was supposed to be driven, but it did not work out that way and the ball came back more quickly than we expected." In which case, Northampton will be forever wondering what happened, because Justin Bishop and Venter set up Appleford for a glorious try under the posts.

The second try, in which Appleford ran in three quarters of the length of Twickenham, killed off the opponents. Appleford's chances of a first full cap against the Pumas on Saturday week were enhanced yesterday when two centres – Leon Lloyd and Josh Lewsey – withdrew through injury, along with Simon Shaw. To plug the gaps, Clive Woodward called in Newcastle's Tom May, a centre, and Gloucester lock Ed Pearce, with another replacement back still to be named.