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Steve Borthwick's squad won't be losing any more sleep over Argentina's football celebrations. England have switched hotels in Buenos Aires ahead of their flight home to London on Monday, moving from the city centre to accommodation near the international airport on the southern outskirts — a deliberate call to avoid a repeat of Wednesday night's fireworks-and-fanfare chaos that kept players awake until 4am.
The timing couldn't be more loaded. Argentina's football team face Spain in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday. Should La Albiceleste win, the Plaza de la Republica — where England had been staying, in the shadow of the city's iconic Obelisk monument — will become the epicentre of a national eruption. An estimated five million people flooded Buenos Aires streets after Argentina's World Cup triumph in Qatar four years ago. Wednesday's 2-1 semi-final win over England in the football had already produced thousands of revellers deep into the night. Borthwick wasn't caught off guard, but he wasn't fully insulated either. 'I wouldn't suggest that everybody got a great night's sleep last night — there were still fireworks going off at 4am this morning,' he said. 'Most of us were on the other side of the hotel and earplugs were issued to everybody, so we were prepared.'
The England head coach, watching the football semi-final from a conference room in their hotel, also found himself on the terrace soaking up the spectacle late into the night. '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,' Borthwick said. '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.'
Adding fuel to the fire — literally — was flanker Henry Pollock. Footage emerged of the 21-year-old back row goading football fans gathering at Plaza de la Republica from the upper windows of the team bus as England returned from training. Pollock gave thumbs down, stuck out his tongue, waved and shushed the crowd. Locals responded with gestures of their own, one punching the bus windows. Borthwick refused to condemn it. 'Henry's full of character,' he 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.'